iQIYI Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:IQ)

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Traders bought 26,686 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 165% compared to the typical volume of 10,056 call options.

iQIYI Stock Up 5.6 %

NASDAQ:IQ opened at $2.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $2.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.75. iQIYI has a 1-year low of $1.92 and a 1-year high of $5.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.11, a PEG ratio of 0.49 and a beta of 0.05.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. iQIYI had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 5.37%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.05 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that iQIYI will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IQ has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on iQIYI from $5.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. HSBC lowered shares of iQIYI from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $4.70 to $3.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Nomura Securities raised shares of iQIYI to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of iQIYI from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Benchmark downgraded shares of iQIYI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.45.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iQIYI

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in iQIYI by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 127,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 2,950 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of iQIYI by 65.0% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 7,219 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of iQIYI by 59.9% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 21,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 8,225 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of iQIYI during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in iQIYI by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 112,270 shares of the company’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 10,342 shares in the last quarter. 52.69% of the stock is currently 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.