Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

BIDU has been the subject of several other reports. 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 note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Baidu from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Baidu from $120.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Zephirin Group increased their price target on shares of Baidu from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Baidu from $135.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $162.58.

Baidu Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of Baidu stock opened at $112.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.85. The company has a 50-day moving average of $126.84 and a 200 day moving average of $129.89. The firm has a market cap of $38.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -939.26, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.54. Baidu has a 1 year low of $83.30 and a 1 year high of $165.30.

Institutional Trading of Baidu

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Baidu by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,628,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC increased its stake in Baidu by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 5,215 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $581,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc increased its stake in Baidu by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,634 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in Baidu by 25.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 428 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Baidu by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,276 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares in the last quarter.

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.