Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ)

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 26,686 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 165% compared to the typical volume of 10,056 call options.

iQIYI Trading Up 15.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ IQ traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $2.68. 63,873,547 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,678,449. iQIYI has a 52-week low of $1.92 and a 52-week high of $5.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $2.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $3.75. The company has a market capitalization of $2.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.57, a P/E/G ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.05). iQIYI had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 5.37%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.05 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that iQIYI will post 0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. HSBC cut iQIYI from a "hold" rating to a "reduce" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $4.70 to $3.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Benchmark lowered shares of iQIYI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Nomura Securities upgraded shares of iQIYI to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of iQIYI from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of iQIYI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $2.80 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold 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 $3.45.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IQ. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of iQIYI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $18,075,000. SIH Partners LLLP purchased a new stake in iQIYI during the second quarter worth approximately $117,000. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iQIYI in the second quarter worth $495,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of iQIYI by 185.4% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 2,126,099 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,381,265 shares during the period. Finally, MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of iQIYI during the 2nd quarter valued at $142,000. Hedge funds and other 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.