iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 49,860,000 shares, an increase of 23.4% from the February 13th total of 40,410,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 25,630,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 9.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

iQIYI Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IQ traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $2.49. 7,332,010 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 16,727,277. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $2.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.05. iQIYI has a one year low of $1.82 and a one year high of $5.80.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $919.56 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. iQIYI had a return on equity of 7.62% and a net margin of 2.62%. As a group, research analysts forecast that iQIYI will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. HSBC raised shares of iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reduced 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. Finally, OTR Global reissued a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, iQIYI presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.91.

Institutional Trading of iQIYI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new position in iQIYI in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in iQIYI in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. PDS Planning Inc bought a new position in shares of iQIYI in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of iQIYI in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

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.