iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s Why

Shares of iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 32,545,142 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session’s volume of 26,041,418 shares.The stock last traded at $2.19 and had previously closed at $2.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IQ has been the topic of several analyst reports. HSBC upgraded iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday. OTR Global reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup lowered their price target on iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.91.

iQIYI Trading Down 9.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.72 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.35.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $919.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. iQIYI had a return on equity of 7.67% and a net margin of 2.62%. On average, equities research analysts expect that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of iQIYI by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 21,763,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,745,000 after buying an additional 9,809,187 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth $6,818,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in iQIYI by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,011,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235,223 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in iQIYI during the 4th quarter valued at $6,297,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in iQIYI during the 4th quarter valued at $3,914,000. 52.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

iQIYI Company Profile

iQIYI, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides online entertainment video services in the People's Republic of China. It offers various products and services, including online video, online games, online literature, animations, and other products. The company operates a platform that provides a collection of internet video content, such as professionally produced content licensed from professional content providers and self-produced content.