iQIYI Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:IQ)

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 42,174 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 138% compared to the typical volume of 17,741 put options.

Institutional Trading of iQIYI

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of iQIYI during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,998,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of iQIYI in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,693,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in iQIYI by 924.8% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 314,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after purchasing an additional 283,900 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in iQIYI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,818,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iQIYI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on IQ shares. HSBC upgraded iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. OTR Global reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res raised iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.91.

iQIYI Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of iQIYI stock traded down $0.05 on Wednesday, reaching $2.18. The company had a trading volume of 25,414,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,188,690. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $2.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.28. iQIYI has a 1 year low of $1.82 and a 1 year high of $5.80. The firm has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.05. 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 (NASDAQ:IQ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The business 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%. As a group, research analysts predict that iQIYI will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.