iQIYI, Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:IQ) Short Interest Up 34.5% in August

Key Points

• Short interest for iQIYI, Inc. increased by 34.5% in August, reaching 89,140,000 shares, which equates to approximately 16.9% of the company's stock being sold short.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for iQIYI, with three "Buy" ratings, four "Hold" ratings, and one "Sell" rating, while the consensus price target stands at $2.51.
• Institutional investors own 52.69% of iQIYI's shares, with several hedge funds recently acquiring or boosting their positions in the company's stock.

iQIYI, Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 89,140,000 shares, a growth of 34.5% from the August 15th total of 66,290,000 shares. Currently, 16.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 22,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 22,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Currently, 16.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in IQ. Krane Funds Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 23.6% in the 1st quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 26,905,091 shares of the company's stock worth $60,806,000 after acquiring an additional 5,141,322 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $6,818,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in iQIYI by 44.5% during the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 9,370,852 shares of the company's stock worth $21,178,000 after buying an additional 2,886,631 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in iQIYI by 393.4% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,152,263 shares of the company's stock worth $4,864,000 after buying an additional 1,716,011 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in iQIYI by 247.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,884,384 shares of the company's stock worth $4,259,000 after buying an additional 1,341,745 shares in the last quarter. 52.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IQ has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group raised shares of iQIYI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $3.32 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Cfra Research cut shares of iQIYI from a "hold" rating to a "moderate sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of iQIYI from $2.10 to $2.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of iQIYI from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, CLSA raised shares of iQIYI from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.51.

iQIYI Trading Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:IQ traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $2.60. The stock had a trading volume of 22,400,758 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,007,476. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $2.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $2.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. iQIYI has a 1-year low of $1.50 and a 1-year high of $3.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 260.26 and a beta of -0.14.

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.