Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) has received a number of upgrades, downgrades and price target changes since its most recent earnings report, along with at least one downgrade today. Stifel Nicolaus analysts upgraded the Chinese search giant from Hold to Buy, while Maxim analysts also gave the company a Buy rating. Piper Jaffray raised its price target for the company, although analysts at BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley and others have either downgraded Baidu or cut their price targets for it.
Baidu views look more positive
Stifel Nicolaus analyst George Askew has a price target of $238 per share on Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) because of the company’s fast-growing mobile search business. He sees the company as becoming the dominant force in mobile search in China and said they now view mobile search as being a separate business from the company’s desktop search. He expects to see continued revenue growth from now on thanks to innovative investments and a number of acquisitions. The analyst did admit though that Baidu’s margins could be under “severe pressure” for the current quarter because of heavy investments.
Maxim Group analyst Echo He has a Buy rating and a $200 per share price target for Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU). He sees the company as being the best mobile advertising platform in China and noted that mobile revenue surpassed 20% of total revenue last year. Piper Jaffray analysts raised their price target for Baidu from $190 to $206 a share, while Pacific Crest, which rates Baidu as Outperform, raised their target from $195 to $220 a share.
Other analysts turn more bearish on Baidu
Of course many analysts also took the opposite view of Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU)’s earnings results. BNP Paribas analysts downgraded the company to Reduce with a price target of $130 a share. Deutsche Bank analysts also cut their price target, lowering it just slightly from $179 to $178 a share. Goldman Sachs analysts also bumped their price target a bit lower, from $220 a share to $215 a share.
Also analysts at Morgan Stanley cut their price target for Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) from $185.40 to $179.60 per share.
