Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Shares Gap Up - Here's What Happened

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $22.00, but opened at $24.66. Daqo New Energy shares last traded at $25.25, with a volume of 1,814,371 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on DQ shares. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Daqo New Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Daiwa America raised shares of Daqo New Energy to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. HSBC upgraded Daqo New Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Nomura Securities upgraded Daqo New Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Daiwa Capital Markets restated a "hold" rating and issued a $25.00 price target (up from $18.00) on shares of Daqo New Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Daqo New Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Trading Up 16.1 %

The company has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.82 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $17.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $18.54.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 1.04%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post -3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Daqo New Energy declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, July 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 8.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Daqo New Energy in the second quarter worth $11,080,000. Sylebra Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 103.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 943,692 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $13,778,000 after buying an additional 480,980 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 142.1% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 696,865 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $19,617,000 after buying an additional 409,057 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Daqo New Energy during the first quarter worth about $9,647,000. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 23.9% in the second quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,181,124 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $17,244,000 after acquiring an additional 228,200 shares during the period. 47.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.