Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Stake in Baidu, Inc. $BIDU

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) by 100.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 130,367 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,453 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Baidu were worth $17,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Baidu by 65.0% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 340 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc purchased a new stake in Baidu during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Baidu by 12,400.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 375 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Sycomore Asset Management acquired a new stake in Baidu during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new position in shares of Baidu in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $80,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on BIDU shares. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Baidu in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. China Renaissance raised Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $134.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Baidu in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Nomura cut their price objective on shares of Baidu from $196.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Baidu from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $157.89.

Baidu Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of Baidu stock opened at $109.91 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $135.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.68. Baidu, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.71 and a 12-month high of $165.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $37.97 billion, a PE ratio of 69.13 and a beta of 0.32.

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.