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

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $157.0526.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on BIDU shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Baidu from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, February 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Baidu from $159.00 to $181.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Baidu from $100.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Baidu from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Baidu in a report on Monday, January 12th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baidu

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BIDU. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,039,132,000 after purchasing an additional 170,414 shares during the last quarter. RPD Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Baidu by 161.6% in the 2nd quarter. RPD Fund Management LLC now owns 1,258,856 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $107,959,000 after buying an additional 777,570 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group bought a new stake in Baidu during the 3rd quarter valued at about $165,334,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Baidu by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 1,182,857 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $154,552,000 after buying an additional 205,040 shares during the period. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Baidu by 127.8% in the 4th quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 1,157,878 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $151,288,000 after acquiring an additional 649,490 shares in the last quarter.

Baidu Stock Performance

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

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.