iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Trading Up 5.7% – Still a Buy?

Shares of iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) were up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $2.46 and last traded at $2.49. Approximately 14,021,425 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 16,541,597 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.35.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on IQ shares. OTR Global reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded 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. Hsbc Global Res upgraded iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.91.

iQIYI Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $2.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.05.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $919.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of IQ. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. bought a new position in iQIYI in the fourth quarter worth about $1,693,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in iQIYI by 924.8% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 314,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 283,900 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in iQIYI in the fourth quarter worth about $6,818,000. Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in iQIYI in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of iQIYI during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Institutional investors own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

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.