Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Upgraded by Daiwa America to Hold

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) was upgraded by equities researchers at Daiwa America to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

DQ has been the topic of several other reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Daqo New Energy in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Roth Mkm reduced their price target on Daqo New Energy from $23.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Daqo New Energy from $38.40 to $34.05 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $25.00 target price (up from $18.00) on shares of Daqo New Energy in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Stock Down 3.3 %

NYSE:DQ opened at $20.00 on Wednesday. Daqo New Energy has a 12-month low of $13.62 and a 12-month high of $30.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.04.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by ($1.25). Daqo New Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.04% and a negative net margin of 4.11%. The company had revenue of $219.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.50 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Daqo New Energy will post -3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Daqo New Energy announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, July 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DQ. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 117.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 22.2% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,104 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 20.6% in the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 10,734 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 12,187.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 1,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 78,340 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,205,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. 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.