DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Trading Up 10% – Still a Buy?

Shares of DAQO New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) were up 10% on Friday . The stock traded as high as $32.57 and last traded at $32.4690. Approximately 447,146 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average daily volume of 1,050,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.51.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on DQ shares. Citigroup raised their target price on DAQO New Energy from $27.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Glj Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $30.51 price objective on shares of DAQO New Energy in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Roth Capital set a $30.00 price target on DAQO New Energy and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $18.30 price target on DAQO New Energy and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, HSBC raised DAQO New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.04.

DAQO New Energy Trading Up 11.3%

The stock has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.39 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.55.

DAQO New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.61) by $0.39. DAQO New Energy had a negative return on equity of 5.89% and a negative net margin of 53.74%.The company had revenue of $162.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $176.78 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that DAQO New Energy Corp. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

DAQO New Energy announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On DAQO New Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Continental General Insurance Co. lifted its position in shares of DAQO New Energy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Continental General Insurance Co. now owns 5,966,202 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $108,048,000 after buying an additional 50,000 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of DAQO New Energy by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,866,454 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $28,314,000 after buying an additional 26,100 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of DAQO New Energy by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,745,544 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $31,612,000 after buying an additional 26,359 shares during the period. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of DAQO New Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,183,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in DAQO New Energy by 117.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,159,835 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $21,005,000 after buying an additional 625,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.