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

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 33,470,000 shares, a decline of 18.5% from the January 15th total of 41,060,000 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 21,660,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on IQ. OTR Global reiterated a "negative" rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Benchmark reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC upgraded iQIYI from a "reduce" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $2.15 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, iQIYI presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.91.

iQIYI Stock Performance

NASDAQ:IQ traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2.26. 53,122,898 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 28,080,850. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.45. iQIYI has a 52-week low of $1.82 and a 52-week high of $5.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 4.58 and a beta of 0.03. The company's 50 day moving average price is $2.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.35.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $919.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. iQIYI had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 7.62%. As a group, research analysts forecast that iQIYI will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IQ. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 31.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 108,280 shares of the company's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 25,961 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its position in iQIYI by 404.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 190,129 shares of the company's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 152,418 shares during the period. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of iQIYI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 181.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 101,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 65,396 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of iQIYI by 127.2% in the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 66,789 shares of the company's stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 37,396 shares during the last quarter. 52.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.