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

Shares of Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $162.5789.

Several brokerages have weighed in on BIDU. Susquehanna boosted their price target on Baidu from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Baidu from $135.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Baidu from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Zephirin Group boosted their price objective on shares of Baidu from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Baidu from $147.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th.

Baidu Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of BIDU opened at $111.61 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $126.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $129.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.85 and a current ratio of 1.85. The company has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of -930.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.54. Baidu has a fifty-two week low of $83.30 and a fifty-two week high of $165.30.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baidu

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIDU. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new position in Baidu in the 3rd quarter valued at about $165,334,000. RPD Fund Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $107,959,000 after purchasing an additional 777,570 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in shares of Baidu by 38.0% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,709,426 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $354,014,000 after purchasing an additional 745,588 shares in the last quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd raised its stake in shares of Baidu by 500.3% in the 3rd quarter. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd now owns 891,749 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $117,506,000 after purchasing an additional 743,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $151,288,000 after purchasing an additional 649,490 shares in the last quarter.

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.