Investors Buy High Volume of Call Options on iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ)

Key Points

• On Monday, iQIYI saw a substantial increase in call options trading, with investors purchasing 68,122 call options, a rise of approximately 369% compared to normal volume levels.
• iQIYI's stock rating was recently downgraded from "hold" to "sell" by Wall Street analysts, with a consensus target price of $2.39.
• During midday trading, iQIYI's stock price rose by 17.1% to $2.33, with trading volume significantly surpassing its average.

iQIYI, Inc. Sponsored ADR (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock investors acquired 68,122 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseof369% compared to the typical volume of 14,525 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on IQ. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of iQIYI from $2.10 to $2.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. CLSA raised shares of iQIYI from a "hold" rating to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of iQIYI from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of iQIYI from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $3.32 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2.56.

iQIYI Trading Up 4.7%

IQ stock traded up $0.11 during trading on Friday, hitting $2.46. The company had a trading volume of 24,786,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,228,484. The business has a 50-day moving average of $1.89 and a 200-day moving average of $1.96. iQIYI has a one year low of $1.50 and a one year high of $3.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 246.25 and a beta of -0.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The company reported $0.03 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. Research analysts predict that iQIYI will post 0.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of iQIYI

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in iQIYI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,410,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in iQIYI by 94.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,230,272 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,473,000 after buying an additional 597,819 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new position in iQIYI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $721,000. Krane Funds Advisors LLC lifted its stake in iQIYI by 23.6% in the first quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 26,905,091 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,806,000 after buying an additional 5,141,322 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in iQIYI by 132.7% in the first quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 448,126 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,013,000 after buying an additional 255,538 shares during the period. 52.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.