iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Shares Gap Up - What's Next?

Key Points

• iQIYI shares witnessed a significant jump, with the stock opening at $2.32 after closing at $1.99, and last trading at $2.40 with a volume of over 30 million shares.
• Wall Street Zen downgraded iQIYI's rating from "hold" to "sell," and analysts have given it a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $2.39.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in iQIYI, with hedge funds now owning 52.69% of the company's stock.

Shares of iQIYI, Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $1.99, but opened at $2.32. iQIYI shares last traded at $2.40, with a volume of 30,458,852 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

IQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. CLSA raised shares of iQIYI from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of iQIYI from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. UBS Group upgraded shares of iQIYI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $3.32 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of iQIYI from $2.10 to $2.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, iQIYI has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $2.56.

iQIYI Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $1.89 and its 200-day moving average is $1.96. The company has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 246.25 and a beta of -0.14.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). iQIYI had a net margin of 0.32% and a return on equity of 2.26%. The company had revenue of $988.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.10 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that iQIYI, Inc. Sponsored ADR will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IQ. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of iQIYI by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 11,011,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,135,000 after buying an additional 3,235,223 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC grew its holdings in iQIYI by 141.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 155,717 shares of the company's stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 91,179 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in iQIYI by 94.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,230,272 shares of the company's stock worth $2,473,000 after purchasing an additional 597,819 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in iQIYI in the fourth quarter worth about $721,000. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its holdings in iQIYI by 272.1% in the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 670,146 shares of the company's stock worth $1,347,000 after purchasing an additional 490,046 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.