Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) Short Interest Update

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,990,000 shares, an increase of 22.0% from the August 15th total of 3,270,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 759,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.3 days. Approximately 6.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on DQ. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Daqo New Energy in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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. StockNews.com raised Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Nomura Securities upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Daqo New Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.26.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Daqo New Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,016,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 48,744 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,184,000 after buying an additional 1,899 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 664 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Daqo New Energy by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,728,399 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $72,575,000 after buying an additional 53,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Daqo New Energy by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 219,204 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $5,826,000 after acquiring an additional 65,772 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

Daqo New Energy Trading Up 5.9 %

NYSE:DQ traded up $0.89 on Tuesday, reaching $15.94. 232,777 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,026,092. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.30. Daqo New Energy has a 1-year low of $13.62 and a 1-year high of $32.44. The company’s 50 day moving average is $15.90 and its 200-day moving average is $19.79.

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

Daqo New Energy announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, July 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 8.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.