Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Boosts Holdings in Baidu, Inc. $BIDU

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) by 646.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,140 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,050 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich’s holdings in Baidu were worth $1,064,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Yarbrough Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Baidu in the 4th quarter worth about $1,697,000. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Baidu by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 818,930 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $107,910,000 after purchasing an additional 146,992 shares during the period. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Baidu by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 508,388 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $66,990,000 after purchasing an additional 213,941 shares during the period. TT International Asset Management LTD purchased a new stake in shares of Baidu in the 4th quarter worth about $33,727,000. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Baidu in the 3rd quarter worth about $9,328,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BIDU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. China Renaissance raised shares of Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $134.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Nomura dropped their price objective on shares of Baidu from $196.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Baidu from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Baidu from $147.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Baidu from $150.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Baidu currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $158.05.

Baidu Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BIDU opened at $135.33 on Friday. Baidu, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.17 and a fifty-two week high of $165.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $122.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.99. The company has a market capitalization of $46.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 85.11 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.76 and a current ratio of 1.76.

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.