Baidu (BIDU); HK 9888

[winston]

not vested

Baidu Stock: Starting to Look Really Attractive

by Chris MacDonald

Turning to Wall Street, Baidu comes in as a Strong Buy. Out of 11 analyst ratings, there are 11 Buy recommendations.

The average Baidu price target of $253.36 implies 65.4% upside potential. Analyst price targets range from a high of $330 per share to a low of $175 per share.

Source: Tip Ranks

https://www.tipranks.com/news/article/b ... M0Y0JjE%3D

[winston]

vested

Baidu: A Stock to Avoid These Days

by Nikolaos Sismanis

The company recorded $3.4 billion in losses related to its long-term investments.

iQiyi losses were ~$3.5 billion.

Baidu has a Strong Buy consensus rating, based on ten Buys assigned in the past three months. At $257.90, the average Baidu stock forecast suggests 70.5% upside potential.

Baidu’s P/E appears to be standing at around 18.5 at the stock’s current levels.

I find the company’s iQIYI equity stake a bad asset, which will likely erode Baidu’s shareholder value further. Consequently, I believe that Baidu is a stock to avoid in the present moment.

Source: Tip Ranks

https://www.tipranks.com/news/article/b ... =story_thu

[winston]

vested

BYD Picks Baidu as Smart Driving Supplier: Report

BYD COMPANY (01211.HK) picked BIDU-SW (09888.HK) as its smart driving supplier, reported Science and Technology Innovation Express News.

Baidu renders BYD with ANP intelligent driving products and man-machine co-driving map.

Baidu's intelligent driving team has entered the field ahead of schedule.

Facilitating BYD's development, Baidu will soon achieve mass production of cooperative car models with BYD.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

not vested

BIDU-SW Reportedly Conducts 2nd Round of Layoff; Company: Standard Personnel Changes, Optimization

Certain market rumors suggested that BIDU-SW (09888.HK) is currently conducting a second round of downsizing.

The company was said to have been streamlining multiple business departments including its AIG (ACG, TPG, INF) and MEG, since January 2022.

BIDU-SW, in response, told Sina Tech that relevant measures are merely standard personnel changes and optimization.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

not vested

BIDU-SW 4FQ Total Rev Up 9% YoY to RMB33.1B, Beating Estimate; Adj. Operating Income Down 39% to RMB4.31B

BIDU-SW (09888.HK) (BIDU.US) announced that, for the quarter ended December 31, 2021, the total revenues rose 9% YoY to RMB33.088 billion, topping the street consensus of RMB32.2 billion.

Net income attributable to Baidu dropped 67% YoY to RMB1.715 billion, versus net loss of RMB16.559 billion in 3FQ.

The adjusted operating income fell 39% YoY to RMB4.307 billion.

In December, Baidu App's MAUs reached 622 million, up 14% YoY, and daily logged-in users reached 82%.

iQIYI (IQ.US) subscribers reached 99 million in December 2021.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

not vested

Baidu profit slides 14pc to 18.8b yuan

Baidu (9888) reported a 14 percent drop year-on-year in adjusted net profit to 18.83 billion yuan (HK$23.32 billion) in 2021, but still above estimates.

Revenue over the same period rose 16 percent to 124.5 billion yuan from an earlier year, with non-advertising revenue surging by 71 percent to 21.2 billion yuan driven by cloud and other AI-powered businesses, it said in the latest filing.

For the fourth quarter to December 31, the internet search engine leader saw a 41 percent slump in adjusted net profit to HK$4.1 billion yuan, with revenue up 9 percent.

Revenue from non-advertising businesses also jumped 63 percent in the three months, versus growth of just 1 percent in online marketing.

Apollo Go, its robotaxi service, provided around 213,000 rides in the quarter, Baidu's chief executive Robin Li said in a statement.

Baidu plans to mass-produce electric vehicles in 2023, with a prototype to be unveiled next month.

IQiyi, meanwhile, reported flat but better than expected revenue last year, which grew 3 percent to 30.6 billion yuan. The video streaming unit predicted it would reach break-even on an adjusted profit operating income basis in fiscal 2022.

Source: The Standard

https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section- ... 18.8b-yuan

[winston]

not vested

Brokers│Views

Jefferies│Able to execute on track with technical support

CLSA │Advertising segment continued to post positive growth

JPMorgan│Quarterly revenue and net profit beat forecasts; commercialization of robotaxi accelerating

Goldman Sachs│Core businesses in line with estimates

Citigroup│Quarterly revenue and earnings beat forecasts

Daiwa│Quarterly results solid; strong progress in monetization of AI business

UBS│Quarterly revenue and earnings beat forecasts

DBS│Resurgence in COVID-19 outbreaks cast shadow on revenue visibility

Morgan Stanley│Quarterly results slightly beat forecasts

Nomura│Quarterly results of core segments broadly in line with estimates

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

not vested

Baidu Inc (BIDU US / 9888 HK) - Optimistic on trough for ads in 1Q22

Baidu’s 4Q21 results came in above expectations.

Total revenue grew 9% YoY to RMB33.1b, which was ~3% above consensus.

Total Baidu Core revenue grew at a solid rate of 12% YoY to RMB26.0b, with online marketing revenue up 1% YoY and non-online marketing revenue up 63% YoY, driven by cloud and other AI-powered businesses.

On the call, management noted that the ad industry has experienced notable challenges but believes that 1Q22 should mark the bottom of the industry, assuming Covid-19 trends do not worsen.

Encouragingly, there are already early signs of recovery in industries such as healthcare.

Over the longer-term, we believe the regulator’s push towards greater openness and interoperability among platforms should also bode well for Baidu, which has now more than 1b ecommerce services SKUs from its major partner platforms available for its users.

We are also notably encouraged by the accelerating pace of Baidu’s non-ads business execution, including the expansion of Apollo Go’s autonomous ride-hailing and the nomination letter from BYD.

We think margin pressure could persist into 2022 as the mix shifts towards AI cloud, but this is
(a) likely well known by the street at this point, and
(b) margins of AI cloud should improve over time as solutions become more mature and standardized.

Following adjustments, our FV eases slightly from USD242 to USD236 (BIDU US) / HKD234 to HKD229 (9888HK). BUY.

Source: OCBC

[winston]

vested

BIDU-SW Approved to Provide Unmanned Autonomous-driving Travel Service in CN

Beijing issued a notice on the application of unmanned self-driving vehicles in travel services, revealing that BIDU-SW (09888.HK) has been selected as the first company to launch unmanned autonomous-driving travel service in China.

"Carrot Run", a platform dedicated to providing autonomous-driving travel service under BIDU-SW, will officially initiate its unmanned autonomous-driving travel operations, marking the first time for self-driving travel service with "no driver behind the wheel" to be launched in major Chinese cities.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

vested

C Suisse Axes BIDU-SW (09888.HK) TP to $181, Rating Outperform

2022/04/21

Credit Suisse assumed BIDU-SW (09888.HK)'s core revenue to rise 3% YoY to RMB21 billion, aligning with market consensus.

The firm's advertising unit waned on seasonality and softer macro, with core search falling 9% YoY but offset by a 48% YoY rise in non-ad income.

The firm's core adjusted OPM may drop 8.8 ppts sequentially to 9.9%.

Despite an undemanding valuation, BIDU-SW's stock price could be squeezed by a lower near-term visibility under Covid relapse.

Credit Suisse cut the firm's FY22-23 earnings estimates by 10% and 6% to indicate a weaker ad business outlook.

Overall, BIDU-SW's H-shares were kept at Outperform, with target price chopped from $189 to $181.

Source: AAStocks Financial News