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

Shares of Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $146.1111.

BIDU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Baidu from $108.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Susquehanna reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Baidu in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Baidu in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Arete Research raised shares of Baidu from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $143.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Baidu from $100.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BIDU. Primecap Management Co. CA increased its holdings in Baidu by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 12,116,750 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,039,132,000 after purchasing an additional 170,414 shares during the last quarter. RPD Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Baidu by 161.6% in 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 buying an additional 777,570 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new stake in Baidu in the third quarter valued at $165,334,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Baidu by 106.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,129,272 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $148,804,000 after acquiring an additional 582,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Baidu by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 977,817 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $128,847,000 after acquiring an additional 5,343 shares in the last quarter.

Baidu Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ BIDU opened at $126.81 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $121.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $108.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.91, a quick ratio of 1.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. Baidu has a 12-month low of $74.71 and a 12-month high of $149.51. The company has a market cap of $43.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.13 and a beta of 0.44.

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.