Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Hold” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

BIDU has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Baidu in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Baidu in a research note on Tuesday, January 13th. Zephirin Group raised their price target on Baidu from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Baidu in a report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $161.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Baidu from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $158.05.

Baidu Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIDU opened at $110.96 on Friday. Baidu has a twelve month low of $74.71 and a twelve month high of $165.30. The stock has a market cap of $37.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.79 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company’s fifty day moving average is $129.54 and its 200-day moving average is $129.68.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Baidu

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BIDU. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Baidu by 0.4% in 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 during the period. Keel Point LLC boosted its position in shares of Baidu by 1.7% during the third quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 5,144 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Baidu by 2.0% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,378 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. PDS Planning Inc grew its holdings in shares of Baidu by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,634 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Baidu by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 428 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 88 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.