In the latest trading session, Baidu Inc. (BIDU – Free Report) closed at $94.54, marking a +0.29% move from the previous day. This move outpaced the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.08%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.08%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.52%.
Shares of the web search company witnessed a gain of 5.15% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Computer and Technology sector with its loss of 12.04% and the S&P 500’s loss of 7.33%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Baidu Inc. in its upcoming release. The company’s earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.79, reflecting a 35.14% decrease from the same quarter last year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $4.34 billion, reflecting a 0.64% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.
BIDU’s full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $10.08 per share and revenue of $18.73 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -4.27% and +1.31%, respectively.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Baidu Inc. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company’s business and profitability.
Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 10.61% increase. Right now, Baidu Inc. possesses a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
From a valuation perspective, Baidu Inc. is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 9.36. This represents a discount compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 21.73.
Investors should also note that BIDU has a PEG ratio of 2.23 right now. The PEG ratio is similar to the widely-used P/E ratio, but this metric also takes the company’s expected earnings growth rate into account. The average PEG ratio for the Internet – Services industry stood at 1.3 at the close of the market yesterday.
The Internet – Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. Currently, this industry holds a Zacks Industry Rank of 150, positioning it in the bottom 41% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained 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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