Short Interest in iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) Decreases By 9.0%

iQIYI, Inc. (NASDAQ:IQ) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 57,180,000 shares, a decrease of 9.0% from the May 31st total of 62,860,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 9,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.3 days. Currently, 10.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

iQIYI Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ IQ traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $3.89. The company had a trading volume of 9,930,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,012,629. The company has a market capitalization of $3.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.27 and a beta of 0.08. iQIYI has a 1 year low of $3.06 and a 1 year high of $6.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.22.

iQIYI (NASDAQ:IQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 16th. The company reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.06 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.09 billion. iQIYI had a return on equity of 17.57% and a net margin of 6.23%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that iQIYI will post 0.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. OTR Global reaffirmed a “mixed” rating on shares of iQIYI in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $9.00 price target on shares of iQIYI in a report on Friday, May 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $6.18.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On iQIYI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in IQ. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in iQIYI during the fourth quarter worth about $54,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in iQIYI during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in iQIYI by 321.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 17,585 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 13,417 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in iQIYI during the fourth quarter worth about $114,000. Finally, DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in iQIYI by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 26,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 13,958 shares during the last quarter. 52.69% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.