Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Takes $2.49 Million Position in Baidu, Inc. $BIDU

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 21,801 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,492,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in Baidu in the 1st quarter valued at about $334,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Baidu by 71.6% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,182 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in Baidu by 53.3% during the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 9,670 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 3,362 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Baidu by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 50,033 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $4,291,000 after buying an additional 1,259 shares during the period. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baidu during the second quarter worth $254,000.

Baidu Trading Up 4.1%

BIDU opened at $99.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.14, a P/E/G ratio of 4.39 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.33, a current ratio of 2.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Baidu, Inc. has a twelve month low of $89.60 and a twelve month high of $165.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $105.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $117.24.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BIDU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Baidu from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Baidu in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Morgan Stanley cut shares of Baidu from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Baidu from $124.00 to $96.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $154.89.

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.