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

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $157.0526.

BIDU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Baidu in a report on Monday, January 12th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Baidu from $100.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Baidu from $100.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Baidu from $159.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Baidu in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Institutional Trading of Baidu

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Keel Point LLC boosted its holdings in Baidu by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 5,144 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Baidu by 2.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,378 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc raised its stake in Baidu by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,634 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Baidu by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in Baidu by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 857 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $113,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter.

Baidu Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIDU opened at $138.38 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.97 and a beta of 0.32. Baidu has a fifty-two week low of $74.71 and a fifty-two week high of $165.30. The business has a 50-day moving average of $139.86 and a 200-day moving average of $122.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91.

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.