StockNews.com Upgrades Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) to “Sell”

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Daqo New Energy from $38.40 to $34.05 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Daqo New Energy from $23.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Nomura Securities raised Daqo New Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Daqo New Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC upgraded Daqo New Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Daqo New Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Daqo New Energy stock traded up $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $16.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 487,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,028,264. The stock has a market cap of $1.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $15.96 and a 200-day moving average of $19.54. Daqo New Energy has a twelve month low of $13.62 and a twelve month high of $31.19.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by ($1.25). Daqo New Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.04% and a negative net margin of 4.11%. The business had revenue of $219.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Daqo New Energy will post -3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Daqo New Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, July 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 8.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 117.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 22.2% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,104 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Daqo New Energy by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 10,734 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $302,000 after buying an additional 1,834 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 12,187.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. 47.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.