Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ)

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Monday. Investors acquired 2,735 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 35% compared to the typical volume of 2,025 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on DQ. Daiwa America upgraded Daqo New Energy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Daiwa Capital Markets reaffirmed 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. Nomura Securities raised Daqo New Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. HSBC raised Daqo New Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $22.26.

Daqo New Energy Stock Up 14.1 %

DQ stock traded up $3.61 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $29.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 10,780,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,136,107. Daqo New Energy has a 52-week low of $13.62 and a 52-week high of $30.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $18.45.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.56) by ($1.25). Daqo New Energy had a negative net margin of 4.11% and a negative return on equity of 1.04%. The business had revenue of $219.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $406.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.34 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Daqo New Energy will post -3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Daqo New Energy announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, July 22nd that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the semiconductor company to repurchase up to 8.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Daqo New Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 142.1% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 696,865 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $19,617,000 after purchasing an additional 409,057 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Daqo New Energy during the 1st quarter worth $3,457,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Daqo New Energy during the 1st quarter worth $9,647,000. Sylebra Capital LLC raised its stake in Daqo New Energy by 103.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sylebra Capital LLC now owns 943,692 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $13,778,000 after acquiring an additional 480,980 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Daqo New Energy by 112.3% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 322,635 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $4,710,000 after acquiring an additional 170,660 shares in the last quarter. 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.