Baidu Inc. (BIDU) Outpaces Stock Market Gains: What You Should Know
Baidu Inc. (BIDU) closed at $139.83 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.78% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.22% gain on the day. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.22%.
Heading into today, shares of the web search company had gained 12.34% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 9.55% and the S&P 500's loss of 10.02% in that time.
Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Baidu Inc. as it approaches its next earnings report date. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.38, down 42.26% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $4.48 billion, down 7.75% from the prior-year quarter.
BIDU's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $8.27 per share and revenue of $19.93 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -1.55% and +3.27%, respectively.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Baidu Inc.These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.
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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 13.78% higher within the past month. Baidu Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking at its valuation, Baidu Inc. is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 16.92. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 19.7, which means Baidu Inc. is trading at a discount to the group.
We can also see that BIDU currently has a PEG ratio of 0.81. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. Internet - Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.36 based on yesterday's closing prices.
The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 202, putting it in the bottom 21% 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.
Make sure to utilize Zacks.com to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and more, in the coming trading sessions.
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