DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Down 4.6% Following Analyst Downgrade

DAQO New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ)’s stock price dropped 4.6% during trading on Tuesday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a sell rating. The company traded as low as $25.61 and last traded at $25.45. Approximately 203,322 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 1,025,062 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.68.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on DQ. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of DAQO New Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Roth Capital reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of DAQO New Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Glj Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.51 target price on shares of DAQO New Energy in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. New Street Research set a $15.40 target price on shares of DAQO New Energy in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of DAQO New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.84.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DAQO New Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in shares of DAQO New Energy by 34.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 51,516 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 13,072 shares during the last quarter. Marex Group plc bought a new stake in DAQO New Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $356,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in DAQO New Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Scoggin Management LP bought a new stake in DAQO New Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $1,517,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in DAQO New Energy by 137.6% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 401,919 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $6,097,000 after purchasing an additional 232,759 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

DAQO New Energy Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.66 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.25 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a fifty day moving average of $23.87 and a 200 day moving average of $18.42.

DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.14) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.02. DAQO New Energy had a negative return on equity of 6.54% and a negative net margin of 65.64%.The firm had revenue of $75.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.54 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that DAQO New Energy Corp. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

DAQO New Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.