Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) Short Interest Update

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,940,000 shares, a growth of 11.3% from the December 15th total of 3,540,000 shares. Currently, 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,400,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Daqo New Energy Price Performance

DQ traded up $0.13 on Monday, reaching $19.01. 758,443 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 744,415. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.48. Daqo New Energy has a 52-week low of $13.62 and a 52-week high of $30.85. The company has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.28 and a beta of 0.26.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.92) EPS 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 company had revenue of $198.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ariose Capital Management Ltd grew its position in Daqo New Energy by 27.5% in the fourth quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,505,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,271,000 after acquiring an additional 324,585 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Daqo New Energy by 9.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Daqo New Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $1,053,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Daqo New Energy by 26.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 128,422 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 26,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wexford Capital LP grew its position in Daqo New Energy by 395.7% in the third quarter. Wexford Capital LP now owns 164,809 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $3,357,000 after acquiring an additional 131,564 shares in the last quarter. 47.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on DQ shares. 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. HSBC upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Company Profile

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.