iQIYI Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:IQ)

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 30,919 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 97% compared to the average volume of 15,711 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on IQ shares. Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Friday, January 24th. HSBC upgraded shares of iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Hsbc Global Res raised iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating 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 issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, iQIYI has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $2.91.

iQIYI Trading Up 10.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IQ opened at $2.53 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.03. iQIYI has a 12 month low of $1.82 and a 12 month high of $5.80. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 13.26% and a net margin of 4.69%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that iQIYI will post 0.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On iQIYI

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning increased its stake in iQIYI by 31.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 108,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 25,961 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 404.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 190,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after acquiring an additional 152,418 shares in the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iQIYI in the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in iQIYI by 181.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 101,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,000 after acquiring an additional 65,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its position in iQIYI by 127.2% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 66,789 shares of the company’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 37,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

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.