iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.09, but opened at $2.17. iQIYI shares last traded at $2.18, with a volume of 3,076,576 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on IQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. OTR Global restated a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup decreased 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, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, iQIYI presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.91.

iQIYI Trading Up 6.9 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $2.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.02. iQIYI had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 13.26%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.07 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of iQIYI by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,357,654 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,959,000 after buying an additional 1,114,390 shares in the last quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in shares of iQIYI by 112.1% during the third quarter. Genesis Investment Management LLP now owns 16,582,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,425,000 after acquiring an additional 8,765,711 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 3.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,259,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,256,000 after acquiring an additional 112,709 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its stake in iQIYI by 77.1% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,871,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,354,000 after purchasing an additional 815,226 shares during the period. Finally, Monolith Management Ltd purchased a new position in iQIYI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,576,000. 52.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.