iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Shares Up 6.2% – Still a Buy?

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) was up 6.2% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $2.34 and last traded at $2.31. Approximately 4,434,396 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 22,052,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.17.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on IQ. HSBC upgraded shares of iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. OTR Global restated a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised shares of iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.91.

iQIYI Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.10 and a 200-day moving average of $2.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $2.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.03.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period last year, the firm posted $0.07 EPS. Research analysts predict that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new position in iQIYI in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of iQIYI during the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of iQIYI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in iQIYI by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 23,926 shares during the period. 52.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.