iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) Short Interest Update

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 56,890,000 shares, a decrease of 5.1% from the September 30th total of 59,930,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 16,560,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days. Currently, 10.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IQ has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Nomura Securities raised iQIYI to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of iQIYI from $5.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of iQIYI from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.80 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. HSBC lowered iQIYI from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $4.70 to $3.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, Benchmark lowered iQIYI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, iQIYI currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.45.

iQIYI Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IQ traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $2.63. 6,518,195 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,460,058. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.64, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.07. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. iQIYI has a one year low of $1.92 and a one year high of $5.80.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. iQIYI had a return on equity of 14.57% and a net margin of 5.37%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.05 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that iQIYI will post 0.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iQIYI

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IQ. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in shares of iQIYI in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new position in iQIYI in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in iQIYI in the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new stake in iQIYI during the second quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 59.9% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 21,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after acquiring an additional 8,225 shares during the period. 52.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.