iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) Short Interest Up 20.7% in February

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 40,410,000 shares, an increase of 20.7% from the January 31st total of 33,470,000 shares. Currently, 7.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 25,440,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.6 days.

iQIYI Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:IQ traded down $0.00 on Friday, reaching $2.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,447,235 shares, compared to its average volume of 28,314,561. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.45. iQIYI has a 52-week low of $1.82 and a 52-week high of $5.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $2.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.03.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS 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 firm had revenue of $919.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that iQIYI will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented 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. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark reiterated 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 research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, OTR Global restated a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, iQIYI presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.91.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iQIYI

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IQ. Flow Traders U.S. LLC purchased a new stake in iQIYI in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in iQIYI in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in iQIYI in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. PDS Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC acquired a new position in shares of iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. 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.