DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Down - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• DAQO New Energy's stock price gapped down from $27.74 to $26.90 before closing at $26.55, with analysts providing mixed ratings and price targets.
• The company recently announced a $100 million stock buyback program, suggesting management believes shares are undervalued.
• In its latest earnings report, DAQO New Energy posted a negative EPS of ($1.14), despite beating analyst expectations of ($1.16), as revenue totaled $75.19 million versus estimates of $140.54 million.

DAQO New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $27.74, but opened at $26.90. DAQO New Energy shares last traded at $26.55, with a volume of 267,435 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DQ shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of DAQO New Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of DAQO New Energy from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of DAQO New Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. HSBC upgraded shares of DAQO New Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Glj Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $30.51 price target on shares of DAQO New Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $28.10.

DAQO New Energy Stock Up 5.9%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.83 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.68 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $22.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.06.

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

DAQO New Energy announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On DAQO New Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DQ. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in DAQO New Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of DAQO New Energy by 86,700.0% in the 1st quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,736 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,734 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of DAQO New Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $187,000. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of DAQO New Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of DAQO New Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $305,000. 47.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.