iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $2.91.

IQ has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. OTR Global reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of iQIYI from a “moderate sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Friday, January 24th. HSBC upgraded iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of IQ. Creative Planning raised its holdings in iQIYI by 31.5% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 108,280 shares of the company’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 25,961 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of iQIYI by 404.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 190,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 152,418 shares during the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of iQIYI in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of iQIYI by 181.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 101,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 65,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in iQIYI by 127.2% during the third quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 66,789 shares of the company’s stock worth $191,000 after buying an additional 37,396 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.69% of the company’s stock.

iQIYI Price Performance

Shares of IQ stock opened at $2.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $2.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a PE ratio of 12.70, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.03. iQIYI has a 52-week low of $1.82 and a 52-week high of $5.80.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. iQIYI had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 13.26%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.07 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that iQIYI will post 0.14 EPS for the current year.

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.