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

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) to a sell rating in a research note published on Monday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Nomura Securities raised Daqo New Energy to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. HSBC raised shares of 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. Roth Mkm cut their price objective on shares of Daqo New Energy from $23.00 to $15.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Daqo New Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DQ opened at $18.54 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $16.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.44. The company has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 8.70 and a beta of 0.30. Daqo New Energy has a 12-month low of $13.62 and a 12-month high of $31.19.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last posted its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $219.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.50 million. Daqo New Energy had a negative net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 1.04%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Daqo New Energy will post -3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Daqo New Energy announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, July 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Daqo New Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,080,000. Sylebra Capital LLC grew its position in Daqo New Energy by 103.9% during the second quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 943,692 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $13,778,000 after acquiring an additional 480,980 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in 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 worth $19,617,000 after acquiring an additional 409,057 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $9,647,000. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,181,124 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $17,244,000 after purchasing an additional 228,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.