iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) shares saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 32,545,142 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 25% from the previous session’s volume of 26,041,418 shares.The stock last traded at $2.19 and had previously closed at $2.42.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Hsbc Global Res upgraded iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC upgraded iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup cut their price target on iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, OTR Global reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. 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. According to MarketBeat, iQIYI presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.91.

iQIYI Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.55, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.13 and a 200 day moving average of $2.34. 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 (NASDAQ:IQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. iQIYI had a return on equity of 7.62% and a net margin of 2.62%. The firm had revenue of $919.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 7,645 shares in the last quarter. IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd increased its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd now owns 60,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new position in iQIYI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in iQIYI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 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.