In the latest trading session, Baidu Inc. (BIDU) closed at $85.33, marking a +1.68% move from the previous day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.6% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 0.83%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.64%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the web search company had lost 7.36% lagged the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 4.03% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.34%.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Baidu Inc. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.42, indicating a 8.97% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.56 billion, up 4.02% from the year-ago period.
BIDU's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $5.66 per share and revenue of $18.88 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of -25.92% and +4.31%, respectively.
Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Baidu Inc. should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Baidu Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).
From a valuation perspective, Baidu Inc. is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 14.83. This represents a discount compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 14.93.
Also, we should mention that BIDU has a PEG ratio of 2.83. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. The Internet - Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.79 at yesterday's closing price.
The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 190, which puts it in the bottom 23% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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 Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).