Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Down to $23.74

Shares of Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $23.74, but opened at $21.75. Daqo New Energy shares last traded at $21.77, with a volume of 251,178 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Daiwa Capital Markets reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Daqo New Energy in a research report on Friday, March 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Daqo New Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $36.23.

Daqo New Energy Trading Down 9.2 %

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.84. The company has a market cap of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.22.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The semiconductor company reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by ($0.20). Daqo New Energy had a return on equity of 6.42% and a net margin of 18.24%. The firm had revenue of $477.13 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $529.40 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.71 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post 4.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $471,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 117.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 858 shares during the period. Prelude Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Prelude Capital Management LLC now owns 304,128 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,090,000 after buying an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Franchise Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,788,000. Finally, Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 38.5% in the 4th quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 18,000 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.22% of the company's stock.

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.