Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating 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 firms recently commented on BIDU. Barclays raised their target price on Baidu from $81.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Baidu in a research note on Monday, November 24th. CLSA upgraded shares of Baidu to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Macquarie upgraded Baidu from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Finally, Nomura set a $140.00 price target on shares of Baidu and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 20th.

Baidu Trading Down 0.1%

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 fifty-two week low of $74.71 and a fifty-two week high of $149.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.08 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $121.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $108.01.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Primecap Management Co. CA grew its stake in Baidu by 1.4% during the second quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 12,116,750 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,039,132,000 after acquiring an additional 170,414 shares in the last quarter. RPD Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Baidu by 161.6% during the second quarter. RPD Fund Management LLC now owns 1,258,856 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $107,959,000 after purchasing an additional 777,570 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in shares of Baidu during the 3rd quarter worth $165,334,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Baidu by 106.7% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,129,272 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $148,804,000 after purchasing an additional 582,832 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Baidu by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 977,817 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $128,847,000 after purchasing an additional 5,343 shares during the last quarter.

About Baidu

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.