iQIYI Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:IQ)

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders bought 73,617 put options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 415% compared to the typical daily volume of 14,287 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

IQ has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. OTR Global reissued a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, iQIYI presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $2.91.

iQIYI Price Performance

Shares of IQ opened at $2.11 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.03. iQIYI has a 12-month low of $1.82 and a 12-month high of $5.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.32.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $919.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. iQIYI had a return on equity of 7.62% and a net margin of 2.62%. Analysts anticipate that iQIYI will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of iQIYI by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 24,357,654 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,959,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,390 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in iQIYI during the third quarter worth $835,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in iQIYI by 77.1% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,871,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,354,000 after buying an additional 815,226 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in iQIYI by 16.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 173,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 23,926 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Monolith Management Ltd acquired a new stake in iQIYI during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,576,000. 52.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.