DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Stock Price Up 7.7% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• DAQO New Energy's stock price increased by 7.7% following an upgrade from Wall Street Zen from a sell to hold rating, with the stock last trading at $27.79.
• Research analysts have generally given the company a favorable outlook, with the average rating being a "Buy" and a price target of $28.10.
• The company reported earnings of ($1.14) per share, slightly exceeding expectations, but had a revenue of $75.19 million which was below consensus estimates.

DAQO New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report)'s share price was up 7.7% during trading on Monday after Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock from a sell rating to a hold rating. The stock traded as high as $27.60 and last traded at $27.79. Approximately 295,598 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 1,023,028 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.81.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Glj Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $30.51 target price on shares of DAQO New Energy in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Citigroup raised their price target on DAQO New Energy from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 8th. HSBC raised DAQO New Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $31.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded DAQO New Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.84.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its position in shares of DAQO New Energy by 34.0% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 51,516 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $781,000 after buying an additional 13,072 shares during the period. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in DAQO New Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $356,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in DAQO New Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Scoggin Management LP acquired a new position in DAQO New Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,517,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in DAQO New Energy by 137.6% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 401,919 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $6,097,000 after purchasing an additional 232,759 shares during the last quarter. 47.22% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

DAQO New Energy Stock Up 3.4%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.29. The stock has a market cap of $1.80 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.60 and a beta of 0.50.

DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $75.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.54 million. DAQO New Energy had a negative return on equity of 6.54% and a negative net margin of 65.64%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that DAQO New Energy Corp. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

DAQO New Energy announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is 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.