iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 39,137,721 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 122% from the previous session’s volume of 17,594,195 shares.The stock last traded at $2.39 and had previously closed at $2.24.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on IQ shares. Hsbc Global Res raised iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. OTR Global reissued a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, HSBC raised iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, iQIYI currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.91.

iQIYI Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $2.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.05.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last announced its 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. iQIYI had a return on equity of 7.62% and a net margin of 2.62%. The company had revenue of $919.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. On average, research analysts expect that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IQ. Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new stake in shares of iQIYI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of iQIYI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. PDS Planning Inc bought a new stake in shares of iQIYI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new position in iQIYI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

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.