Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Shares of Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $22.00, but opened at $24.66. Daqo New Energy shares last traded at $25.25, with a volume of 1,814,371 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on DQ. Nomura Securities raised Daqo New Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. HSBC upgraded Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Daqo New Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of Daqo New Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Roth Mkm decreased their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Trading Up 16.1 %

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99 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 return on equity of 1.04% and a negative net margin of 4.11%. The firm had revenue of $219.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post -3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Daqo New Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, July 22nd that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 142.1% in 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 last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $3,457,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy during the 1st quarter worth $9,647,000. Sylebra Capital LLC increased its holdings in Daqo New Energy by 103.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 943,692 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,778,000 after acquiring an additional 480,980 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Daqo New Energy by 112.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 322,635 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,710,000 after acquiring an additional 170,660 shares during the period. 47.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.