DAQO New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• DAQO New Energy Corp. has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with an average price target of $25.99.
• Recent analyst updates include Citigroup raising its price target significantly from $27 to $37 and Goldman Sachs downgrading the stock from "neutral" to "sell".
• Shares of DAQO New Energy have experienced a 4.7% drop and the company reported a quarterly earnings loss, exceeding expectations with an EPS of ($1.14).

Shares of DAQO New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.8443.

DQ has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC upgraded DAQO New Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded DAQO New Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded DAQO New Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Roth Capital reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of DAQO New Energy in a research note on Thursday. Finally, New Street Research set a $15.40 price objective on DAQO New Energy in a research note on Thursday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in DAQO New Energy during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in DAQO New Energy by 86,700.0% during the first quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,736 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of DAQO New Energy in the first quarter worth $187,000. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of DAQO New Energy in the first quarter worth $216,000. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of DAQO New Energy in the first quarter worth $305,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.22% of the company's stock.

DAQO New Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE DQ traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $26.69. 1,159,951 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,441,855. DAQO New Energy has a 52 week low of $12.40 and a 52 week high of $30.85. The company has a market cap of $1.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.57 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $23.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.38.

DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.14) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.16) by $0.02. DAQO New Energy had a negative return on equity of 6.54% and a negative net margin of 65.64%.The company had revenue of $75.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.54 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that DAQO New Energy will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

DAQO New Energy declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.