Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) Shares Sold by Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund decreased its stake in Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) by 92.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,800 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after selling 849,700 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned approximately 0.11% of Daqo New Energy worth $2,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 858 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 39.4% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,348 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 664 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Daqo New Energy by 112.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,839 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 3,619 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Daqo New Energy during the first quarter worth about $256,000. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Daqo New Energy during the first quarter worth about $264,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.22% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DQ. Roth Mkm reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target on shares of Daqo New Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Daqo New Energy in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC reiterated a “reduce” rating and set a $17.50 price target (down from $23.50) on shares of Daqo New Energy in a report on Monday, May 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.63.

Daqo New Energy Stock Performance

Daqo New Energy stock traded up $0.50 during trading on Thursday, reaching $17.23. The company had a trading volume of 598,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,121,632. Daqo New Energy Corp. has a 12-month low of $14.21 and a 12-month high of $40.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $18.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85 and a beta of 0.28.

Daqo New Energy (NYSE:DQ) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 29th. The semiconductor company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by ($0.32). The company had revenue of $415.31 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $491.90 million. Daqo New Energy had a net margin of 7.84% and a return on equity of 2.46%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.52 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Daqo New Energy Corp. will post 0.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Daqo New Energy declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, July 22nd that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the semiconductor company to purchase up to 8.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.