Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Trading Down 5.2% – Time to Sell?

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) shares were down 5.2% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $18.89 and last traded at $19.19. Approximately 181,647 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average daily volume of 814,760 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Daqo New Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Price Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $19.84 and its 200 day moving average is $19.26. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of -10.48 and a beta of 0.25.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The semiconductor company reported ($2.71) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.69) by ($2.02). The firm had revenue of $195.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $153.54 million. Daqo New Energy had a negative net margin of 9.16% and a negative return on equity of 1.90%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 5,286.6% in the fourth quarter. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. now owns 2,714,780 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $52,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664,381 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Daqo New Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $14,775,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in Daqo New Energy by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 886,655 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $17,237,000 after purchasing an additional 357,460 shares in the last quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd lifted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 27.5% during the fourth quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,505,709 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,271,000 after purchasing an additional 324,585 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Continental General Insurance Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Continental General Insurance Co. now owns 5,916,202 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $115,011,000 after purchasing an additional 322,084 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.