Baidu Inc. (BIDU) closed the most recent trading day at $251.28, moving +0.3% from the previous trading session. The stock outpaced the S&P 500’s daily gain of 0.1%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.12%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.02%.
BIDU will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.60, down 31.76% from the prior-year quarter. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $4.46 billion, up 7.38% from the year-ago period.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for BIDU. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company’s business outlook.
Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
Ranging from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), the Zacks Rank system has a proven, outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks returning an average of +25% annually since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 12.67% higher. BIDU is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now.
Valuation is also important, so investors should note that BIDU has a Forward P/E ratio of 22.27 right now. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry’s average Forward P/E of 39.53.
The Internet – Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 124, which puts it in the top 49% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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