iQIYI Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:IQ)

iQIYI, Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Investors bought 143,284 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 1,082% compared to the typical volume of 12,118 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in iQIYI by 37.3% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 28,138 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 7,645 shares during the period. IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd increased its stake in shares of iQIYI by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. IvyRock Asset Management HK Ltd now owns 60,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $121,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iQIYI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iQIYI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. 52.69% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

iQIYI Price Performance

Shares of IQ stock traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $2.00. 15,821,078 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,465,502. The stock's 50-day moving average is $1.78 and its 200-day moving average is $1.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.57 and a beta of -0.17. iQIYI has a 52 week low of $1.50 and a 52 week high of $3.40.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). iQIYI had a return on equity of 3.62% and a net margin of 1.02%. The company had revenue of $988.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. As a group, research analysts forecast that iQIYI will post 0.04 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of iQIYI from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2.91.

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.