iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Trading 9% Higher – Still a Buy?

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) shares traded up 9% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $2.51 and last traded at $2.50. 7,900,591 shares changed 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on IQ shares. Hsbc Global Res raised iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC raised iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Friday, January 24th. Citigroup lowered 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 reissued a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.91.

iQIYI Stock Down 0.4 %

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 $2.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.60, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.38.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. iQIYI had a return on equity of 13.26% and a net margin of 4.69%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IQ. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of iQIYI by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,357,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,390 shares during the period. Krane Funds Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of iQIYI by 82.1% during the 4th quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 21,763,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,745,000 after acquiring an additional 9,809,187 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of iQIYI by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,293,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,769,000 after acquiring an additional 502,154 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,235,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 78.2% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,745,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,643,387 shares during the period. 52.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.