Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $146.1111.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Macquarie raised shares of Baidu from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $176.00 in a report on Friday, October 10th. Arete Research upgraded Baidu from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $143.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Baidu in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Baidu from $81.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Benchmark boosted their target price on shares of Baidu from $115.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th.

Baidu Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:BIDU opened at $123.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Baidu has a 1 year low of $74.71 and a 1 year high of $149.51. The company has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.08 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $121.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.01.

Institutional Trading of Baidu

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new position in shares of Baidu during the 3rd quarter valued at about $165,334,000. Kingstone Capital Partners Texas LLC bought a new stake in Baidu during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,618,000. RPD Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Baidu by 161.6% during the 2nd quarter. RPD Fund Management LLC now owns 1,258,856 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $107,959,000 after acquiring an additional 777,570 shares during the period. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd lifted its holdings in Baidu by 500.3% during the third quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 891,749 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $117,506,000 after purchasing an additional 743,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Baidu by 106.7% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,129,272 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $148,804,000 after purchasing an additional 582,832 shares during the period.

Baidu Company Profile

Baidu, Inc, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Beijing, is a Chinese multinational technology company best known for operating one of China’s leading internet search engines. The company built its business around online search and related advertising services, providing search, content aggregation and targeted ad placements to consumers and marketers across China. Baidu went public on the NASDAQ in 2005 and has since diversified beyond search into a broader technology and AI-focused portfolio.

Core products and services include the Baidu search platform and mobile app, Baidu Maps and Baidu Baike (an online encyclopedia), along with digital content initiatives.