Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $14.81, but opened at $14.13. Daqo New Energy shares last traded at $13.08, with a volume of 226,969 shares traded.

The semiconductor company reported ($1.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.02) by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $123.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $176.81 million. Daqo New Energy had a negative net margin of 9.16% and a negative return on equity of 1.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on DQ shares. StockNews.com upgraded Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 21st. HSBC lowered Daqo New Energy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $14.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Daqo New Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.01.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Continental General Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Continental General Insurance Co. now owns 5,916,202 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $115,011,000 after purchasing an additional 322,084 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $14,775,000. AI Squared Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $1,499,000. Ariose Capital Management Ltd increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,505,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $29,271,000 after acquiring an additional 324,585 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 210,738 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,097,000 after acquiring an additional 17,880 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

Daqo New Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $17.04 and a 200-day moving average of $18.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $841.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -6.89 and a beta of 0.37.

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.