iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Trading Up 9% – Here’s What Happened

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ)’s share price was up 9% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $2.30 and last traded at $2.35. Approximately 6,020,857 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 70% from the average daily volume of 20,353,893 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.16.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Friday, January 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, OTR Global restated a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, iQIYI presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.91.

iQIYI Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. iQIYI had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 13.26%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of iQIYI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IQ. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in iQIYI in the 3rd quarter valued at $835,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in iQIYI by 77.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,871,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,354,000 after acquiring an additional 815,226 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of iQIYI by 13.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,846,420 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,443,000 after purchasing an additional 694,349 shares during the last quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in shares of iQIYI by 112.1% in the third quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP now owns 16,582,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,425,000 after purchasing an additional 8,765,711 shares during the period. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of iQIYI by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,357,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,390 shares during the last quarter. 52.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.