In the latest trading session, Baidu Inc. (BIDU) closed at $82.98, marking a +0.47% move from the previous day. The stock outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 2.36%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 2.48%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 2.55%.

The the stock of web search company has fallen by 12.64% in the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 8.4% and the S&P 500's loss of 5.6%.

Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Baidu Inc. in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.96, indicating a 28.99% decline compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $4.3 billion, down 1.56% from the prior-year quarter.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $10.08 per share and a revenue of $18.8 billion, representing changes of -4.27% and +1.65%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates 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 shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. 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, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. The Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% higher within the past month. Baidu Inc. presently features a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

In terms of valuation, Baidu Inc. is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.19. This represents a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 17.47.

Meanwhile, BIDU's PEG ratio is currently 1.96. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. Internet - Services stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.2 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 148, which puts it in the bottom 41% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered 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.

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

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Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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