Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Daqo New Energy Call Options (NYSE:DQ)

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders bought 2,735 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 35% compared to the average volume of 2,025 call options.

Daqo New Energy Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Daqo New Energy stock traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $22.26. The company had a trading volume of 4,468,490 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,186,931. The stock has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $18.45. Daqo New Energy has a 12-month low of $13.62 and a 12-month high of $30.85.

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

Daqo New Energy declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, July 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the semiconductor company to buy up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Daqo New Energy by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,496,997 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $36,456,000 after purchasing an additional 149,610 shares in the last quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,181,124 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $17,244,000 after acquiring an additional 228,200 shares during the period. Sylebra Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 103.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 943,692 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,778,000 after acquiring an additional 480,980 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $11,080,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 142.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 696,865 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $19,617,000 after purchasing an additional 409,057 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DQ shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Daqo New Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Daiwa America raised shares of Daqo New Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on shares of Daqo New Energy from $23.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.26.

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.