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

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,930,000 shares, an increase of 26.0% from the March 15th total of 3,120,000 shares. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 882,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Daqo New Energy Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of DQ traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.00. The company had a trading volume of 910,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,082. Daqo New Energy has a 52-week low of $12.90 and a 52-week high of $30.85. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $19.43. The firm has a market cap of $923.83 million, a P/E ratio of -7.57 and a beta of 0.37.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The semiconductor company reported ($2.71) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by ($2.02). 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 $195.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $153.54 million. On average, research analysts expect that Daqo New Energy will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Daqo New Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.21.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. bought a new stake in shares of Daqo New Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Diametric Capital LP raised its holdings in Daqo New Energy by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Diametric Capital LP now owns 16,018 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 3,255 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 7.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,067 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,410 shares during the period. Polymer Capital Management HK LTD purchased a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $404,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake 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 buying an additional 2,813 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.