Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

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

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on BIDU. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Baidu from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $110.00 to $188.00 in a research note on Monday, November 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Baidu from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Baidu in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $150.00 target price on shares of Baidu in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $155.78.

Baidu Trading Down 3.0%

Baidu stock opened at $148.57 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.36 and a beta of 0.30. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $135.80 and a 200-day moving average of $119.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Baidu has a one year low of $74.71 and a one year high of $165.30.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Inc. OK bought a new stake in shares of Baidu in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,715,000. Fluent Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Baidu by 16.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 23,606 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 3,286 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Baidu during the 3rd quarter worth $2,027,000. ARK Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Baidu by 129.4% in the second quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 294,447 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $25,252,000 after purchasing an additional 166,088 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Baidu by 11.9% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 169,775 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $14,560,000 after purchasing an additional 18,042 shares during the period.

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.