iQIYI Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:IQ)

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 73,617 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 415% compared to the average daily volume of 14,287 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IQ has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Citigroup reduced their price target on iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. HSBC raised iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, iQIYI presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.91.

iQIYI Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IQ opened at $2.11 on Thursday. iQIYI has a 12 month low of $1.82 and a 12 month high of $5.80. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.13 and a 200-day moving average of $2.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.10, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.03.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IQ. Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new stake in shares of iQIYI during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC acquired a new stake in iQIYI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in iQIYI in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Vident Advisory LLC acquired a new position in iQIYI in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, PDS Planning Inc bought a new position in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 52.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.