Barclays Boosts Baidu (BIDU) Price Target to $250.00

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Barclays from $240.00 to $250.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the information services provider’s stock. Barclays’ price objective would indicate a potential downside of 3.94% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Baidu from $250.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Baidu from $230.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 30th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and set a $301.00 target price on shares of Baidu in a report on Sunday, November 19th. BidaskClub upgraded Baidu from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Co restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Baidu in a report on Monday, January 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $237.76.

Shares of Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) traded up $6.11 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $260.25. The company had a trading volume of 2,394,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,240,000. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $90,370.00, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.89. Baidu has a 12-month low of $166.00 and a 12-month high of $274.97.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BIDU. Harding Loevner LP increased its position in shares of Baidu by 7,512.3% in the 3rd quarter. Harding Loevner LP now owns 299,359,034 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $597,992,000 after acquiring an additional 295,426,466 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in shares of Baidu by 54.2% in the 2nd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,726,375 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,739,659,000 after acquiring an additional 3,419,291 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P increased its position in shares of Baidu by 29.7% in the 2nd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,015,196 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,612,458,000 after acquiring an additional 2,066,614 shares during the period. Veritas Asset Management LLP increased its position in shares of Baidu by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Veritas Asset Management LLP now owns 3,415,287 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $845,932,000 after acquiring an additional 10,989 shares during the period. Finally, Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. increased its position in shares of Baidu by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Comgest Global Investors S.A.S. now owns 2,912,380 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $721,367,000 after acquiring an additional 252,446 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 63.87% of the company’s stock.

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About Baidu

Baidu, Inc is a Chinese language Internet search provider. The Company offers a Chinese language search platform on its Baidu.com Website that enables users to find information online, including Webpages, news, images, documents and multimedia files, through links provided on its Website. In addition to serving individual Internet search users, the Company provides a platform for businesses to reach customers.