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

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 32,545,142 shares were traded during 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on IQ shares. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. OTR Global restated a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. HSBC upgraded shares of iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, iQIYI currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.91.

iQIYI Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.03. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.34.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last posted 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. The firm 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%. Equities research analysts forecast that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its position 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 last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of iQIYI by 82.1% in the fourth quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 21,763,769 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,745,000 after purchasing an additional 9,809,187 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of iQIYI by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,293,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,769,000 after purchasing an additional 502,154 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of iQIYI by 41.6% in the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of iQIYI by 78.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,745,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,529,000 after purchasing an additional 1,643,387 shares during the last quarter. 52.69% of the stock is 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.