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Why the Market Dipped But Baidu Inc. (BIDU) Gained Today

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The latest trading session saw Baidu Inc. (BIDU - Free Report) ending at $104.07, denoting a +0.01% adjustment from its last day's close. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.21% loss on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.14%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.05%.

Heading into today, shares of the web search company had gained 23.95% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 9.62% and the S&P 500's gain of 5.94% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Baidu Inc. in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.73, down 2.5% from the prior-year quarter. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $4.84 billion, indicating a 2.53% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $11.17 per share and a revenue of $19.23 billion, signifying shifts of -1.93% and +1.86%, respectively, from the last year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Baidu Inc. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. 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 remained steady. As of now, Baidu Inc. holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Valuation is also important, so investors should note that Baidu Inc. has a Forward P/E ratio of 9.32 right now. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 33.01 of its industry.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. With its current Zacks Industry Rank of 89, this industry ranks in the top 36% of all industries, numbering over 250.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.


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