Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Trading 7.8% Higher - Here's Why

Shares of Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) shot up 7.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $15.00 and last traded at $14.89. 188,705 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 1,043,485 shares. The stock had previously closed at $13.81.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on DQ shares. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Daqo New Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Daqo New Energy to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Daqo New Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.21.

Daqo New Energy Price Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $18.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $923.83 million, a PE ratio of -7.57 and a beta of 0.37.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 27th. The semiconductor company reported ($2.71) 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 company had revenue of $195.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $153.54 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post -3.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Continental General Insurance Co. increased its stake in Daqo New Energy by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Continental General Insurance Co. now owns 5,916,202 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $115,011,000 after acquiring an additional 322,084 shares during the last quarter. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 5,286.6% during the 4th quarter. Greenwoods Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd. now owns 2,714,780 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $52,775,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664,381 shares during the last quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd raised its holdings in Daqo New Energy by 27.5% during 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 buying an additional 324,585 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Daqo New Energy by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 886,655 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $17,237,000 after buying an additional 357,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 1.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 842,921 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $17,170,000 after buying an additional 8,983 shares during the period. 47.22% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.