Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) Downgraded by The Goldman Sachs Group to "Neutral"

The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ - Free Report) from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has $17.00 price objective on the semiconductor company's stock.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Daqo New Energy to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $21.21.

Daqo New Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

DQ stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.00. The stock had a trading volume of 910,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,082. Daqo New Energy has a 52-week low of $12.90 and a 52-week high of $30.85. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $18.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.43. The company has a market cap of $923.83 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.57 and a beta of 0.37.

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 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 business had revenue of $195.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $153.54 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Daqo New Energy will post -3.5 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DQ. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 842,921 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $17,170,000 after purchasing an additional 8,983 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 26.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 128,422 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,616,000 after buying an additional 26,462 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Daqo New Energy during the third quarter valued at about $1,053,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Daqo New Energy by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 33,546 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 2,813 shares during the period. Finally, Ariose Capital Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 27.5% in the 4th quarter. Ariose Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,505,709 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $29,271,000 after acquiring an additional 324,585 shares during the last quarter. 47.22% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.