Baidu Inc. (BIDU) closed at $97.48 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.92% move from the prior day. The stock exceeded the S&P 500, which registered a loss of 0.01% for the day. Meanwhile, the Dow lost 0.37%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 0.41%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the web search company had gained 19.65% over the past month. This has outpaced the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 3.65% and the S&P 500's gain of 4.88% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Baidu Inc. in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on February 18, 2025. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.78, indicating a 42.21% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Alongside, our most recent consensus estimate is anticipating revenue of $4.56 billion, indicating a 7.31% downward movement from the same quarter last year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Baidu Inc. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the company's business outlook.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has shifted 1.74% downward. Baidu Inc. is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.

In the context of valuation, Baidu Inc. is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 10.47. This denotes a discount relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 24.04.

We can also see that BIDU currently has a PEG ratio of 1.76. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. The Internet - Services was holding an average PEG ratio of 1.69 at yesterday's closing price.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 82, finds itself in the top 33% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the strength of our separate industry groups by calculating the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks contained within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Be sure to use Zacks.com to monitor all these stock-influencing metrics, and more, throughout the forthcoming trading sessions.

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