DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Shares gapped down pre-market, opening at $17.99 after a $21.95 close and last trading around $19.13 on heavy volume (542,730 shares), signaling sharp near-term weakness.
• DAQO missed quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of ($0.11) vs. estimates of ($0.04) and revenue of $221.7M vs. $276.9M, with negative net margin (25.6%) and analysts projecting about -$0.38 EPS for the year.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but skewing negative—several downgrades (including Weiss and GLJ) and price targets cut to roughly $18.13, while the MarketBeat consensus remains a Hold with an average target of $25.43.

DAQO New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $21.95, but opened at $17.99. DAQO New Energy shares last traded at $19.1290, with a volume of 542,730 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DQ has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of DAQO New Energy in a research note on Friday, March 27th. New Street Research set a $18.13 price target on DAQO New Energy in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Glj Research downgraded shares of DAQO New Energy from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $30.51 to $18.13 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $25.43.

DAQO New Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.59 and a beta of 0.80. The business's 50-day moving average price is $22.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.67.

DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The semiconductor company reported ($0.11) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.07). DAQO New Energy had a negative return on equity of 2.92% and a negative net margin of 25.62%.The company had revenue of $221.71 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.94 million. Equities analysts predict that DAQO New Energy Corp. will post -0.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DAQO New Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DQ. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in DAQO New Energy by 1,261.0% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 354,596 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $6,422,000 after purchasing an additional 328,541 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $21,005,000 after purchasing an additional 625,900 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in DAQO New Energy by 34.4% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 174,912 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,168,000 after purchasing an additional 44,780 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC boosted its holdings in DAQO New Energy by 78.0% in the second quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 212,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $3,219,000 after purchasing an additional 92,954 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in DAQO New Energy by 267.0% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 193,805 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,940,000 after purchasing an additional 141,004 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.22% of the company's stock.

About DAQO New Energy

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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