iQIYI Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:IQ)

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) saw some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders bought 42,174 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 138% compared to the typical daily volume of 17,741 put options.

iQIYI Stock Performance

Shares of iQIYI stock opened at $2.19 on Thursday. iQIYI has a 52 week low of $1.82 and a 52 week high of $5.80. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $2.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of -0.18.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $919.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. iQIYI had a net margin of 2.62% and a return on equity of 7.62%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that iQIYI will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iQIYI

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Krane Funds Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 82.1% during the fourth quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 21,763,769 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,745,000 after acquiring an additional 9,809,187 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth about $6,818,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of iQIYI by 41.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,011,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,135,000 after purchasing an additional 3,235,223 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of iQIYI in the fourth quarter valued at about $6,297,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of iQIYI in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,914,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IQ. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Hsbc Global Res raised iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. OTR Global reissued a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, HSBC raised shares of 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.91.

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.