Short Interest in Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) Rises By 22.0%

Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,990,000 shares, a growth of 22.0% from the August 15th total of 3,270,000 shares. Approximately 6.1% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 759,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Daqo New Energy Stock Performance

NYSE DQ opened at $15.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $993.41 million, a PE ratio of 7.07 and a beta of 0.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $15.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $19.79. Daqo New Energy has a 52-week low of $13.62 and a 52-week high of $32.44.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported ($1.81) earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $406.50 million. Daqo New Energy had a negative return on equity of 1.04% and a negative net margin of 4.11%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.34 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Daqo New Energy will post -3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Trading of Daqo New Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Daqo New Energy by 12,187.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,966 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,950 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Daqo New Energy by 117.5% in the 4th 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 during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Daqo New Energy by 39.4% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 664 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 4,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Daqo New Energy by 22.2% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 8,104 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on DQ shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Daqo New Energy from $38.40 to $34.05 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. HSBC raised Daqo New Energy from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $15.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Roth Mkm decreased their target price 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. Nomura Securities upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Daqo New Energy to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.26.

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.