iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 49,860,000 shares, an increase of 23.4% from the February 13th total of 40,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 9.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on IQ shares. OTR Global restated a "negative" rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC raised 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. Hsbc Global Res upgraded iQIYI from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of iQIYI in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, iQIYI currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.91.

iQIYI Price Performance

IQ traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $2.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 41,344,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,168,170. 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 market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.05. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $2.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.27. iQIYI has a 12 month low of $1.82 and a 12 month high of $5.80.

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iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. Sell-side analysts forecast that iQIYI will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in shares of iQIYI in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,693,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in iQIYI by 924.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 314,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 283,900 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth $6,818,000. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of iQIYI during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of iQIYI in the 4th quarter valued at $237,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.