Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $17.77, but opened at $18.91. Daqo New Energy shares last traded at $19.07, with a volume of 882,992 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DQ. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. HSBC raised Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Hsbc Global Res raised Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Daiwa Capital Markets upgraded Daqo New Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Nomura Securities raised Daqo New Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Daqo New Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.18 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.20.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The semiconductor company reported ($0.92) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.80) by ($0.12). Daqo New Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.90% and a negative net margin of 9.16%. The company had revenue of $198.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $186.90 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.09) EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of DQ. Sylebra Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 103.9% during the second quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 943,692 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $13,778,000 after purchasing an additional 480,980 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 112.3% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 322,635 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,710,000 after acquiring an additional 170,660 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Daqo New Energy by 32.2% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 135,732 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $2,765,000 after purchasing an additional 33,031 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Daqo New Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $1,053,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 57.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 74,571 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,519,000 after purchasing an additional 27,223 shares in the last quarter. 47.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.