Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Sees Large Volume Increase – Still a Buy?

Shares of Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 1,329,073 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the previous session’s volume of 1,171,982 shares.The stock last traded at $23.52 and had previously closed at $22.51.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DQ shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Daqo New Energy from $38.40 to $34.05 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. HSBC upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Nomura Securities upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm reduced 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 report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Price Performance

The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $18.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.50. The company has a market cap of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -12.21 and a beta of 0.32.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by ($1.25). Daqo New Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.89% and a negative net margin of 9.16%. The business had revenue of $219.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $406.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.34 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post -3.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Daqo New Energy declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, July 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 8.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 18,657 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Daqo New Energy by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Daqo New Energy by 132.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,567 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 15.9% during the third quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 23,877 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $486,000 after buying an additional 3,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Daqo New Energy during the second quarter worth $11,080,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

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.