Should I Buy IQ? IQ 2026 Analysis

Should You Buy iQIYI Inc (IQ) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Conclusion

Hold

Latest Price

2.110

1 Day change

-0.94%

52 Week Range

2.840

Analysis Updated At

2026/01/29

IQ is not a good buy right now for an impatient investor. The stock is trading near Morgan Stanley’s lowered $2.10 price target (limited immediate upside), fundamentals are deteriorating (2025/Q3 revenue down and losses widened), and the Intellectia signals show no strong buy trigger today. While options flow is bullish (call-heavy) and near-term technicals are mildly constructive, the risk/reward at ~$2.10 looks more like a wait/hold than an immediate buy.

Technical Analysis

Price/levels: Last ~$2.095, sitting slightly above the pivot (2.036). Near-term resistance is close overhead at R1 2.154 (then R2 2.226). Supports to watch: 2.036 then 1.918. Momentum: MACD histogram is positive (0.0143) but contracting, suggesting bullish momentum is fading rather than accelerating. RSI: RSI(6) ~61.6 (neutral-to-slightly bullish), not oversold. Trend structure: Moving averages are converging, consistent with a range/basing phase rather than a strong trend. Tactical read: With resistance ~2.154 nearby and momentum not expanding, upside may be capped short-term unless price clears R1 decisively. **Intellectia Proprietary Trading Signals** - [AI Stock Picker](module://ai_stock_pick): no signal on given stock today. - [SwingMax](module://swingmax): No signal on given stock recently.

Options Data

Bullish

Open Interest Put-Call Ratio

Bullish

Option Volume Put-Call Ratio

Sentiment: Put/call ratios are very low (OI PCR 0.47; Volume PCR 0.1), indicating bullish positioning/skew toward calls. Activity: Today’s option volume is elevated (~180% of 30-day average), suggesting heightened speculative interest. Volatility: IV (30d) ~61.7 vs HV ~46.8, but IV Rank ~6 and IV Percentile ~16 imply implied vol is relatively low versus its own history—options are not pricing an extreme move compared with recent months. Net takeaway: Options market leans bullish, but it looks more like speculative call demand than a confirmed trend breakout in the underlying.

Technical Summary

Sell

Buy

Positive Catalysts

Potential Q4 revenue returning to growth (per Morgan Stanley commentary on improved pipeline performance).
Call-heavy options positioning with elevated volume (near-term sentiment support).
Upcoming earnings catalyst: QDEC 2025 earnings on 2026-02-26 (pre-market), which could re-rate shares if growth/margins surprise positively.

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Fundamentals weakened in 2025/Q3: revenue -7.77% YoY; net loss widened materially; EPS deteriorated; gross margin down to ~18.19%.
Margin headwind risk: expected higher content costs and operating expenses in Q4 (per Morgan Stanley), which can offset any revenue rebound.
No supportive news flow in the past week (no fresh catalysts).
Price is already near the latest reduced Street target (~$2.10), limiting immediate upside unless estimates improve.

Financial Performance

Latest quarter: 2025/Q3. Revenue fell to 6.682B (-7.77% YoY). Profitability worsened: net income dropped to -248.9M (loss widened), EPS -0.04 (down sharply YoY). Gross margin declined to ~18.19% (down YoY). Overall, the latest quarter shows weakening growth and margin pressure rather than an improving trend.

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

Recent trend: Morgan Stanley (2025-11-19) cut price target to $2.10 from $2.30 and maintained Equal Weight—this is a cautious/neutral stance with a slightly more bearish valuation view. Wall St. pro view (pros/cons): Pros: Potential for Q4 revenue growth rebound if content pipeline performs. Cons: Higher content/opex expected to pressure margins; recent quarter showed declining revenue and worsening losses; price target roughly matches current price, implying limited near-term upside. Influential trading check: No recent congress trading data available; hedge funds and insiders show neutral recent activity.

3 Analyst Rating

Wall Street analysts forecast IQ stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for IQ is 2.38 USD with a low forecast of 2.1 USD and a high forecast of 2.65 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.

1 Buy

2 Hold

0 Sell

Moderate Buy

Current: 2.130

Low

2.1

Averages

2.38

High

2.65

Current: 2.130

Low

2.1

Averages

2.38

High

2.65

Morgan Stanley

Equal Weight

downgrade

AI Analysis

2025-11-19

Reason

Morgan Stanley

Price Target

AI Analysis

2025-11-19

downgrade

Equal Weight

Reason

Morgan Stanley lowered the firm's price target on iQiyi to $2.10 from $2.30 and keeps an Equal Weight rating on the shares. The firm expects Q4 total revenue to return to growth year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter due to improved pipeline performance, but it also expects higher content cost and operating expense in Q4 to weigh on margins, the analyst tells investors.

UBS

Neutral -> Buy

upgrade

2025-08-21

Reason

UBS

Price Target

2025-08-21

upgrade

Neutral -> Buy

Reason

UBS upgraded iQiyi to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $3.32, up from $1.97.

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IQ Should I Buy

IQ Should I Buy

Should You Buy iQIYI Inc (IQ) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.

Technical Analysis

Options Data

Technical Summary

Positive Catalysts

Neutral/Negative Catalysts

Financial Performance

Growth

Profitability

Efficiency

Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends

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