DAQO New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) Short Interest Up 15.7% in April

Key Points

• Short interest up 15.7% — short interest rose to 2,744,897 shares as of April 15, implying a short-interest ratio of 6.5 days and about 5.4% of the company’s shares sold short.
• Severe Q1 operating collapse — revenue plunged to $26.7M (from $221.7M in Q4), the company posted a $139.4M gross loss and an $88.4M net loss, and reported ($1.31) EPS that missed consensus by a wide margin.
• Despite the weakness, Daqo reported roughly $2.0 billion in cash and short-term investments and maintained production scale (43,402 MT in Q1) with Q2 polysilicon guidance of 35,000–40,000 MT.

DAQO New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,744,897 shares, a growth of 15.7% from the March 31st total of 2,372,029 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 421,656 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.5 days. Approximately 5.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Key DAQO New Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting DAQO New Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company balance sheet and production scale provide a cushion: Daqo reported about $2.0 billion of cash, short‑term investments and related balances at quarter‑end and produced 43,402 MT of polysilicon in Q1, showing continued manufacturing scale even as markets reset. PR Newswire: Q1 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Q2 production guidance points to continued high output: Management expects Q2 polysilicon production of 35,000–40,000 MT, indicating the company plans to keep capacity utilization high as it awaits market price signals in June. Seeking Alpha: Q2 production guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: Third‑party interest could attract investor flows but is not a near‑term catalyst: Daqo was included on a list of top Chinese stocks favored by some hedge funds, which may support longer‑term visibility but does not change near‑term fundamentals. InsiderMonkey: Hedge fund picks
• Negative Sentiment: Severe Q1 operating and revenue collapse: Q1 revenue plunged to $26.7M (from $221.7M in Q4), the company posted a $139.4M gross loss and an $88.4M net loss (adjusted loss per ADS $1.31). Management’s numbers show a large margin swing and heavy EBITDA losses. PR Newswire: Q1 2026 Financial Results
• Negative Sentiment: Missed analyst expectations and weak earnings metrics pressured sentiment: Daqo missed revenue and EPS consensus (Zacks and other transcripts show larger-than-expected loss per share and far lower revenue vs estimates), which helps explain today’s share weakness. Zacks: Q1 loss and revenue miss

Analyst Ratings Changes

DQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. New Street Research set a $18.13 price objective on DAQO New Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Glj Research lowered DAQO New Energy from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $30.51 to $18.13 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of DAQO New Energy in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $19.00 price objective on DAQO New Energy in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $23.59.

Institutional Trading of DAQO New Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DQ. Continental General Insurance Co. grew its holdings in DAQO New Energy by 11.3% during the third quarter. Continental General Insurance Co. now owns 6,641,986 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $186,839,000 after purchasing an additional 675,784 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in shares of DAQO New Energy in the third quarter valued at about $18,280,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of DAQO New Energy by 117.2% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,159,835 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $21,005,000 after acquiring an additional 625,900 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of DAQO New Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $16,742,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in shares of DAQO New Energy in the third quarter valued at about $11,673,000. Institutional investors own 47.22% of the company's stock.

DAQO New Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:DQ opened at $19.22 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.57. DAQO New Energy has a 52-week low of $12.52 and a 52-week high of $36.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a PE ratio of -6.91 and a beta of 0.80.

DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.31) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.13) by ($1.18). DAQO New Energy had a negative net margin of 32.92% and a negative return on equity of 3.19%. The company had revenue of $26.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $96.89 million. Equities analysts forecast that DAQO New Energy will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

DAQO New Energy Company Profile

DAQO New Energy Corp. operates as a leading manufacturer of high-purity polysilicon and monocrystalline silicon wafers for the global solar photovoltaic industry. The company focuses on serving module makers and integrated solar producers with critical upstream materials, applying proprietary technologies and optimized processes to achieve high product purity and consistently low production costs. Its core offerings include solar-grade polysilicon—used in the ingot casting and wafer slicing stages—and premium mono-silicon wafers, which are a key input for high-efficiency solar cell production.

Founded in the late 2000s and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2010, DAQO New Energy established its first polysilicon facility in China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

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