Benzinga | Aug 13, 2021 10:13AM EDT

KeyBanc Maintains Overweight On iQIYI After Q2 Earnings; Slashed Price Target Implies 101% Upside

* KeyBanc analyst Hans Chung lowered the price target on iQIYI Inc (NASDAQ:IQ) to $19 from $26, implying a 100.6% upside, and maintained an Overweight rating.

* The rating reflects regulatory uncertainty and sector-wide multiple contractions.

* While a more restricted regulatory environment could impact the timing of content release and present near-term headwinds, he continues to think improving the quality and quantity of original content could drive a consistent improvement in sub-churn rates.

* iQIYI's Q2 revenue of $1.2 billion beat the analyst consensus of $1.14 billion. Loss per ADS of $(0.27) exceeded the analyst consensus loss of $(0.34).

* Price Action: IQ shares traded higher by 0.48% at $9.52 in the market session on the last check Friday.