Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd Acquires New Position in Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU)

Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 324,141 shares of the information services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,328,000. Baidu comprises about 1.7% of Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Contrarius Group Holdings Ltd owned 0.09% of Baidu at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in BIDU. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Baidu in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Sycomore Asset Management bought a new position in Baidu in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Baidu in the third quarter valued at approximately $72,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Baidu during the third quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Denver PWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Baidu by 28.5% during the third quarter. Denver PWM LLC now owns 991 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on BIDU. StockNews.com cut shares of Baidu from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. China Renaissance cut shares of Baidu from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Baidu in a research note on Saturday, March 8th. Nomura cut shares of Baidu from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Baidu from $83.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $111.25.

Baidu Price Performance

BIDU stock opened at $98.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $34.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 2.19, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Baidu, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.20 and a 12-month high of $116.25. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $89.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.75.

About Baidu

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.