Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $22.26.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on DQ shares. Nomura Securities raised shares of Daqo New Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, September 23rd. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Daqo New Energy from $38.40 to $34.05 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Daiwa America upgraded Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Daqo New Energy Stock Performance

Daqo New Energy stock opened at $19.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of -10.38 and a beta of 0.32. Daqo New Energy has a fifty-two week low of $13.62 and a fifty-two week high of $30.85. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $20.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.41.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.80) by ($0.12). Daqo New Energy had a negative net margin of 9.16% and a negative return on equity of 1.90%. The firm had revenue of $198.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.90 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted ($0.09) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Daqo New Energy will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Daqo New Energy announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Monday, July 22nd that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 12,187.5% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Daqo New Energy by 27.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 602 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 202.3% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,387 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 4,274 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 22.2% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,104 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 37.9% during the second quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 14,442 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares during 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.