Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) Short Interest Up 26.0% in March

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,930,000 shares, a growth of 26.0% from the March 15th total of 3,120,000 shares. Approximately 6.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 882,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.5 days.

Daqo New Energy Price Performance

DQ stock traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $14.22. The company had a trading volume of 168,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,532. Daqo New Energy has a 52 week low of $12.90 and a 52 week high of $30.85. The company has a market capitalization of $938.62 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.69 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.30.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The semiconductor company reported ($2.71) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by ($2.02). Daqo New Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.90% and a negative net margin of 9.16%. The firm had revenue of $195.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $153.54 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Daqo New Energy will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on DQ. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Daqo New Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $17.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. StockNews.com raised Daqo New Energy to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.21.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DQ. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Daqo New Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $9,372,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 67.5% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 886,655 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $17,237,000 after acquiring an additional 357,460 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Europe London LLP bought a new stake in Daqo New Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $3,742,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Daqo New Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $3,287,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Daqo New Energy by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 39,200 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares during the period. 47.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.