Baidu Inc. (BIDU) closed at $121.58 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.37% move from the prior day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.4%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.04%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 0.66%.
The web search company's stock has dropped by 3.11% in the past month, falling short of the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 2.27% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.02%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Baidu Inc. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $1.32, marking a 44.3% fall compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $4.34 billion, showing a 9.33% drop compared to the year-ago quarter.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.45 per share and a revenue of $18.31 billion, representing changes of -29.25% and -0.99%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Baidu Inc. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 0.98% downward. Baidu Inc. is holding a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now.
From a valuation perspective, Baidu Inc. is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 16.1. This denotes a discount relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 24.17.
The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 78, positioning it in the top 32% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.
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Baidu, Inc. (BIDU): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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