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

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Traders acquired 2,735 call options on the company. This is an increase of 35% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,025 call options.

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Daqo New Energy by 12,187.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 1,950 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 117.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,588 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 27.3% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,809 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the period. AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 202.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 6,387 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 4,274 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in Daqo New Energy by 22.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,104 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the period. 47.22% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Daqo New Energy Stock Down 26.7 %

DQ traded down $7.78 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $21.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 7,376,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,164,554. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 0.32. Daqo New Energy has a twelve month low of $13.62 and a twelve month high of $30.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $18.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.45.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) 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 company had revenue of $219.91 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.34 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Daqo New Energy will post -3.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Daqo New Energy declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, July 22nd that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to reacquire up to 8.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

DQ has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Roth Mkm lowered their price objective on Daqo New Energy from $23.00 to $15.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Daqo New Energy in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Daiwa America upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Nomura Securities upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Daqo New Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.26.

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.