iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.54, but opened at $2.42. iQIYI shares last traded at $2.38, with a volume of 10,345,600 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on IQ shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on iQIYI from $2.50 to $1.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Benchmark restated a “hold” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Friday, January 24th. HSBC raised shares of iQIYI from a “reduce” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $2.15 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of iQIYI from $3.00 to $2.80 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, OTR Global restated a “negative” rating on shares of iQIYI in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, iQIYI currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $2.91.

iQIYI Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.45 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.36.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.01. iQIYI had a net margin of 4.69% and a return on equity of 13.26%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that iQIYI, Inc. will post 0.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of iQIYI

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of IQ. Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in iQIYI in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in iQIYI in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of iQIYI in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Vident Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of iQIYI in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, PDS Planning Inc acquired a new stake in iQIYI during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. 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.