Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) Short Interest Update

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 6,914,433 shares, a decrease of 14.2% from the January 15th total of 8,063,030 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,907,161 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Based on an average daily volume of 2,907,161 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baidu

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Baidu during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,027,000. ARK Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Baidu by 129.4% in the 2nd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 294,447 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $25,252,000 after purchasing an additional 166,088 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Baidu by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 169,775 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,560,000 after purchasing an additional 18,042 shares during the period. Monaco Asset Management SAM grew its holdings in Baidu by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Monaco Asset Management SAM now owns 282,500 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $24,227,000 after buying an additional 36,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Baidu by 64.1% during the second quarter. Marathon Trading Investment Management LLC now owns 6,400 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter.

Baidu Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIDU opened at $137.01 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.69. Baidu has a fifty-two week low of $74.71 and a fifty-two week high of $165.30. The company has a market capitalization of $47.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.52 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a current ratio of 1.91.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BIDU. National Bank Financial upgraded Baidu to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $150.00 price target on Baidu in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Baidu in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Nomura raised their target price on shares of Baidu from $178.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $157.05.

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.