Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $17.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.21.

Daqo New Energy Price Performance

Daqo New Energy stock traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $14.83. The stock had a trading volume of 900,425 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,620. Daqo New Energy has a twelve month low of $12.90 and a twelve month high of $30.85. The firm has a market cap of $978.88 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -8.02 and a beta of 0.37. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $17.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.18.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The semiconductor company reported ($2.71) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.69) by ($2.02). The company had revenue of $195.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, sell-side analysts predict that Daqo New Energy will post -3.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Continental General Insurance Co. raised its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 5.8% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in Daqo New Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $14,775,000. AI Squared Management Ltd bought a new position in Daqo New Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $1,499,000. Ariose Capital Management Ltd increased its position in Daqo New Energy by 27.5% in 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 period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 9.3% in the fourth 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 last quarter. 47.22% of the stock is owned by 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.