Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $17.89, but opened at $18.99. Daqo New Energy shares last traded at $18.83, with a volume of 162,654 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on DQ. Daiwa America upgraded Daqo New Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com upgraded Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Daqo New Energy from $38.40 to $34.05 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced their price target on shares of Daqo New Energy from $23.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Daqo New Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.64. The firm has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.32.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($1.25). Daqo New Energy had a negative net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 1.04%. The business had revenue of $219.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.50 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post -3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Daqo New Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, July 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 117.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Daqo New Energy in the fourth quarter worth $471,000. Ariose Capital Management Ltd increased its stake in Daqo New Energy by 19.1% in the first quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 952,924 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $26,825,000 after purchasing an additional 152,800 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Daqo New Energy by 15.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 125,425 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $3,531,000 after purchasing an additional 16,710 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 142.1% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 696,865 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $19,617,000 after purchasing an additional 409,057 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

About Daqo New Energy

Daqo New Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers in the People's Republic of China. Its products are used in ingots, wafers, cells, and modules for solar power solutions. The company was formerly known as Mega Stand International Limited and changed its name to Daqo New Energy Corp.