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

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 30,260,918 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 58% from the previous session’s volume of 19,151,866 shares.The stock last traded at $1.70 and had previously closed at $1.53.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on IQ. HSBC upgraded iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. OTR Global reissued a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered 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 Global Res raised shares of iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, iQIYI presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.91.

iQIYI Price Performance

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 company has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a PE ratio of 16.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of -0.18. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.26.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. iQIYI had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 7.62%. The firm had revenue of $919.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $43,745,000 after acquiring an additional 9,809,187 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of iQIYI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,818,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in iQIYI by 41.6% in the fourth 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 purchased a new position in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth $6,297,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth $3,914,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

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.