Baidu Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:BIDU)

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) saw unusually large options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 64,745 call options on the company. This is an increase of 52% compared to the average daily volume of 42,507 call options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on BIDU shares. China Renaissance downgraded shares of Baidu from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Monday, November 25th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on shares of Baidu in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Baidu from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays downgraded shares of Baidu from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Baidu from $142.00 to $141.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $113.75.

Baidu Trading Up 4.6 %

BIDU stock opened at $86.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 2.19 and a current ratio of 2.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.83. Baidu has a 52 week low of $77.19 and a 52 week high of $116.25. The company has a market capitalization of $30.30 billion, a PE ratio of 10.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.46.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Baidu

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its position in Baidu by 1.5% during the third quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 12,123,856 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,276,521,000 after purchasing an additional 176,150 shares during the period. Sanders Capital LLC lifted its position in Baidu by 0.7% during the third quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 2,605,728 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $274,357,000 after purchasing an additional 18,334 shares during the period. CoreView Capital Management Ltd lifted its position in Baidu by 15.6% during the third quarter. CoreView Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,236,783 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $130,221,000 after purchasing an additional 166,618 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Baidu by 12,065.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,070,694 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,127,330,000 after purchasing an additional 1,061,893 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Baidu during the third quarter worth about $42,748,000.

About Baidu

Baidu, Inc engages in the provision of internet search services in China. It operates through two segments: Baidu Core and iQIYI. The company offers Baidu App to access search, feed, and other services using mobile devices; Baidu Search to access its search and other services; Baidu Feed that provides users with personalized timeline based on their demographics and interests; Baidu Health that helps users to find the doctor and hospital for healthcare needs; and Haokan, a short video app.