iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Trading 3.8% Higher – Should You Buy?

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ)’s stock price rose 3.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $2.30 and last traded at $2.30. Approximately 6,591,744 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 17,342,941 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on IQ shares. Hsbc Global Res raised iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. OTR Global restated a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, iQIYI has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.91.

iQIYI Stock Up 5.8 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.27 billion, a PE ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.05.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. iQIYI had a return on equity of 7.62% and a net margin of 2.62%. The company had revenue of $919.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. Analysts forecast that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IQ. Krane Funds Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 21,763,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,745,000 after acquiring an additional 9,809,187 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth about $6,818,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted 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 in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new position in iQIYI in the 4th quarter worth about $6,297,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in iQIYI during the 4th quarter valued at about $3,914,000. 52.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About iQIYI

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.