Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) Earns Buy Rating from Benchmark

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Benchmark in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $130.00 target price on the information services provider’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 53.33% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on BIDU. Dbs Bank lowered Baidu from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Baidu from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Susquehanna lowered Baidu from a “positive” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $105.00 to $85.00 in a report on Monday, November 25th. China Renaissance lowered Baidu from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 27th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $113.75.

Baidu Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BIDU traded up $2.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $84.78. The company had a trading volume of 1,460,073 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,742,483. Baidu has a 12 month low of $77.19 and a 12 month high of $116.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $29.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $84.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.84.

Institutional Trading of Baidu

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BIDU. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Baidu by 12,065.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,070,694 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $1,127,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,061,893 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Baidu in the third quarter valued at about $42,748,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in Baidu during the third quarter worth approximately $36,272,000. Hhlr Advisors LTD. acquired a new position in Baidu during the third quarter worth approximately $31,587,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Baidu by 147.5% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 381,456 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $32,161,000 after buying an additional 227,338 shares during the last quarter.

Baidu Company Profile

Baidu, Inc engages in the provision of internet search services in China. It operates through two segments: Baidu Core and iQIYI. The company offers Baidu App to access search, feed, and other services using mobile devices; Baidu Search to access its search and other services; Baidu Feed that provides users with personalized timeline based on their demographics and interests; Baidu Health that helps users to find the doctor and hospital for healthcare needs; and Haokan, a short video app.