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Baidu Inc. (BIDU) Stock Moves -1.3%: What You Should Know

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Baidu Inc. (BIDU - Free Report) closed at $149.70 in the latest trading session, marking a -1.3% move from the prior day. This change was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.84%. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 1.38%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.38%.

Heading into today, shares of the web search company had gained 0.46% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 3.8% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.96% in that time.

Wall Street will be looking for positivity from Baidu Inc. as it approaches its next earnings report date. This is expected to be March 1, 2022. On that day, Baidu Inc. is projected to report earnings of $1.49 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 51.62%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $5.04 billion, up 8.74% from the prior-year quarter.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Baidu Inc. should also be noted by investors. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 18.72% lower within the past month. Baidu Inc. currently has a Zacks Rank of #5 (Strong Sell).

Investors should also note Baidu Inc.'s current valuation metrics, including its Forward P/E ratio of 23.92. Its industry sports an average Forward P/E of 24.6, so we one might conclude that Baidu Inc. is trading at a discount comparatively.

Meanwhile, BIDU's PEG ratio is currently 13.14. 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. The Internet - Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 2.43 at yesterday's closing price.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 221, putting it in the bottom 13% 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.

To follow BIDU in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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