iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Trading Up 9% - Here's Why

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) traded up 9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $2.51 and last traded at $2.50. 7,900,591 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 66% from the average session volume of 23,362,770 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.29.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark restated a "hold" rating on shares of iQIYI in a research report on Friday, January 24th. HSBC upgraded shares of iQIYI from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $2.15 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target 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, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of iQIYI from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.91.

iQIYI Stock Up 0.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.03. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $2.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $2.37.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 prior year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iQIYI

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Krane Funds Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of iQIYI by 82.1% in the 4th quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 21,763,769 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,745,000 after purchasing an additional 9,809,187 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth $6,297,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth $3,914,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in iQIYI by 78.2% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,745,666 shares of the company's stock worth $7,529,000 after buying an additional 1,643,387 shares during the last quarter. 52.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.