Earnest Partners LLC Acquires 146,992 Shares of Baidu, Inc. $BIDU

Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) by 21.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 818,930 shares of the information services provider’s stock after buying an additional 146,992 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.24% of Baidu worth $107,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Voya Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Baidu during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,027,000. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Baidu by 36.7% in the third quarter. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC now owns 53,291 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $7,022,000 after purchasing an additional 14,315 shares during the period. Marex Group plc acquired a new position in Baidu in the second quarter valued at about $7,200,000. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd lifted its position in Baidu by 19.9% during the third quarter. Polunin Capital Partners Ltd now owns 412,368 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $58,556,000 after purchasing an additional 68,496 shares during the period. Finally, ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Baidu by 72.7% during the third 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Nomura decreased their target price on shares of Baidu from $196.00 to $186.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Baidu from $147.00 to $128.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Baidu in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Baidu from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Baidu in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Baidu presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.89.

Baidu Stock Performance

Baidu stock opened at $124.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.91, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $42.86 billion, a PE ratio of 78.03 and a beta of 0.32. Baidu, Inc. has a 12-month low of $74.71 and a 12-month high of $165.30. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $140.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $128.59.

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.