DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

DAQO New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Monday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $26.03, but opened at $28.40. DAQO New Energy shares last traded at $27.80, with a volume of 275,715 shares traded.

The semiconductor company reported ($0.22) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $0.39. DAQO New Energy had a negative return on equity of 6.54% and a negative net margin of 65.64%.

DAQO New Energy announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Roth Capital restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of DAQO New Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. HSBC raised DAQO New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Citigroup raised their price target on DAQO New Energy from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded DAQO New Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded DAQO New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.99.

Institutional Trading of DAQO New Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in DAQO New Energy by 62.4% in the 3rd quarter. FengHe Fund Management Pte. Ltd. now owns 469,833 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,216,000 after acquiring an additional 180,457 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in DAQO New Energy in the third quarter worth $517,000. Vontobel Holding Ltd. bought a new stake in DAQO New Energy in the third quarter worth $1,585,000. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd bought a new stake in DAQO New Energy in the third quarter worth $37,183,000. Finally, Luminus Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of DAQO New Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,125,000. Institutional investors own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

DAQO New Energy Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $26.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -5.14 and a beta of 0.60.

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.