Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 3,415 Shares of Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) by 60.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,105 shares of the information services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,415 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Baidu were worth $768,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BIDU. Atria Investments Inc bought a new stake in shares of Baidu during the 3rd quarter valued at $216,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Baidu by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,563 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $586,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in Baidu by 18.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 16,822 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,771,000 after acquiring an additional 2,669 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in Baidu by 260.4% in the 3rd quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 11,467 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $1,207,000 after acquiring an additional 8,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Baidu in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,054,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered Baidu from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Daiwa Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Baidu in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Mizuho upped their target price on Baidu from $95.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Nomura Securities lowered Baidu from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Baidu from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Thirteen research 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $111.25.

Baidu Trading Down 4.0 %

Shares of BIDU stock opened at $94.27 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. Baidu, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.20 and a 1-year high of $116.25. The business has a 50-day moving average of $89.71 and a 200 day moving average of $89.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 2.19.

Baidu Profile

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.