Hsbc Global Res Upgrades Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) to Hold

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) was upgraded by equities researchers at Hsbc Global Res from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price on shares of Daqo New Energy in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Daqo New Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Daqo New Energy from $38.40 to $34.05 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Daqo New Energy in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Daqo New Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Trading Down 5.6 %

Shares of NYSE:DQ opened at $14.02 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $925.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $16.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.18. Daqo New Energy has a 12-month low of $13.62 and a 12-month high of $37.92.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.56) by ($1.25). Daqo New Energy had a return on equity of 2.46% and a net margin of 7.84%. The company had revenue of $219.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $406.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Daqo New Energy will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Boston Partners acquired a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,016,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 48,744 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,728,399 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $72,575,000 after buying an additional 53,860 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 219,204 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $5,826,000 after buying an additional 65,772 shares in 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.