Benchmark Co. analyst Fawne Jiang reiterated a Buy rating on Baidu (BIDU – Research Report) today and set a price target of $130.00.
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Fawne Jiang has given his Buy rating due to a combination of factors, primarily focusing on Baidu’s promising growth prospects in the AI cloud segment. The recent quarter showed a significant boost in AI Cloud revenue, which grew by 26% year-over-year, indicating a strong market demand driven by advancements like DeepSeek. Baidu’s strategic move to open-source its ERNIE 4.5 series is expected to enhance technology adoption and position the company well against competitors in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Baidu’s core advertising faced challenges, but management expects a gradual recovery, forecasting a return to growth in the second half of the fiscal year. The integration of AI technologies in search opens new avenues for monetization, despite the competitive pressures from evolving traffic gateways like chatbots. Additionally, Baidu’s ventures in Robotaxi and plans for share buybacks present a favorable risk-reward scenario, supporting the Buy rating and the current price target of $130.
In another report released today, Bank of America Securities also reiterated a Buy rating on the stock with a $104.00 price target.