Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.65, but opened at $21.11. Daqo New Energy shares last traded at $21.42, with a volume of 135,645 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Nomura Securities upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. HSBC raised shares of Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Daiwa America raised shares of Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Daqo New Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Daqo New Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Trading Down 7.6 %

The company has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.91 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.48.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.92) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by ($0.12). Daqo New Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.90% and a negative net margin of 9.16%. The firm had revenue of $198.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $186.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.09) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 12,187.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Daqo New Energy by 27.3% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its position in Daqo New Energy by 202.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,387 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 4,274 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Daqo New Energy by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,104 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. raised its position in Daqo New Energy by 37.9% in the 2nd quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 14,442 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 3,970 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

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.