Short Interest in iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) Declines By 7.0%

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totalling 54,970,000 shares, a drop of 7.0% from the July 31st total of 59,080,000 shares. Approximately 10.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 9,200,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.0 days.

iQIYI Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:IQ opened at $2.09 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $3.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.94. iQIYI has a twelve month low of $2.07 and a twelve month high of $5.80. The company has a market capitalization of $2.01 billion, a PE ratio of 7.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 0.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last released 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). iQIYI had a net margin of 5.37% and a return on equity of 14.57%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.05 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that iQIYI will post 0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of iQIYI

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of IQ. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in iQIYI in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in iQIYI in the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC acquired a new position in iQIYI in the 2nd quarter valued at $46,000. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in iQIYI by 65.0% in the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 18,317 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 7,219 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in iQIYI by 59.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 21,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 8,225 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

IQ has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Nomura Securities upgraded iQIYI to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on iQIYI from $5.00 to $3.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut iQIYI from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $2.80 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Hsbc Global Res lowered iQIYI from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Finally, HSBC lowered iQIYI from a “hold” rating to a “reduce” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $4.70 to $3.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.45.

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.