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

Shares of Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-three research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research 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 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $162.5789.

BIDU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Baidu from $135.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 19th. Barclays dropped 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. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on shares of Baidu in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Baidu from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 25th. Finally, Zephirin Group raised 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baidu by 0.4% in the fourth 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 during the period. Keel Point LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baidu by 1.5% in the first 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 during the period. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of Baidu by 5.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Baidu by 25.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Baidu by 8.4% in the fourth 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 during the period.

Baidu Price Performance

Shares of BIDU opened at $107.82 on Thursday. Baidu has a 1-year low of $84.64 and a 1-year high of $165.30. The stock has a market cap of $36.69 billion, a PE ratio of -898.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $126.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.85 and a quick ratio of 1.85.

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.