Baidu, Inc. $BIDU Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) by 100.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 130,367 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 65,453 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Baidu were worth $17,034,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new position in shares of Baidu in the third quarter valued at approximately $165,334,000. RPD Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Baidu by 161.6% during the second quarter. RPD Fund Management LLC now owns 1,258,856 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $107,959,000 after acquiring an additional 777,570 shares during the last quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd boosted its position in Baidu by 500.3% during the third quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 891,749 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $117,506,000 after acquiring an additional 743,205 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Baidu by 106.7% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,129,272 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $148,804,000 after acquiring an additional 582,832 shares during the period. Finally, Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Baidu in the 3rd quarter valued at $59,966,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BIDU. China Renaissance upgraded Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $134.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Baidu from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Barclays reduced their target price on Baidu from $147.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Baidu in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Baidu has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $157.89.

Baidu Price Performance

BIDU stock opened at $109.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.13 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76. Baidu, Inc. has a 1 year low of $74.71 and a 1 year high of $165.30. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $129.68.

Baidu 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.