Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 6,914,433 shares, a drop of 14.2% from the January 15th total of 8,063,030 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,907,161 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,907,161 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Baidu News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Baidu this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts have been lifting price targets and reiterating bullish views—Tiger Securities raised its target and kept a Buy, supporting investor optimism about Baidu’s AI-led growth. Analysts Raise Price Targets on Baidu (BIDU)
• Positive Sentiment: Baidu announced global AI expansions, including launches tied to Apollo Go and BaiduWiki, reinforcing its strategy to monetize AI and cloud capabilities outside China. This news supports revenue diversification and long‑term upside. Baidu Expands Global AI Footprint With Apollo Go And BaiduWiki Launches
• Positive Sentiment: Baidu and Uber are expanding their partnership to scale autonomous ride‑hailing (Apollo Go) in Dubai, a visible commercialization milestone for Baidu’s AV stack that could drive new revenue streams and partnerships. Uber and Baidu, Inc. (BUDI) Expand Partnership to Expand Autonomous Ride‑Hailing in Dubai
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pieces note a thematic re‑rating as AI and cloud earnings drivers are being priced into Baidu shares, which can attract growth‑oriented flows and rerate the multiple over time. Why Analysts See Baidu (NasdaqGS:BIDU) Story Shifting As AI And Cloud Reprice Shares
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data is inconsistent across reports: one note says short interest decreased ~14.2% (which would be supportive), while other entries show data errors (zero shares/NaN). Net impact unclear until cleaner short‑interest numbers are confirmed. Short Interest in Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) Decreases By 14.2%
• Negative Sentiment: Glancy Prongay Wolke & Rotter LLP is continuing a securities‑fraud investigation into Baidu related to earlier Reuters reporting; the legal overhang increases regulatory and litigation risk and could weigh on sentiment if it escalates. Securities Fraud Investigation Into Baidu, Inc. (BIDU) Continues

Institutional Trading of Baidu

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Baidu by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 20,112 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $2,628,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC increased its position in Baidu by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 5,144 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Baidu by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,378 shares of the information services provider’s stock worth $577,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc lifted its stake in Baidu by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 1,634 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Baidu by 25.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 428 shares of the information services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BIDU shares. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Baidu in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Baidu from $100.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $150.00 price target on Baidu in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. National Bank Financial raised Baidu to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Baidu in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $157.05.

Baidu Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of BIDU opened at $137.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $140.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $124.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.91 and a quick ratio of 1.91. Baidu has a one year low of $74.71 and a one year high of $165.30. The company has a market cap of $47.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.62 and a beta of 0.32.

Baidu Company Profile

Baidu, Inc, founded in 2000 and headquartered in Beijing, is a Chinese multinational technology company best known for operating one of China’s leading internet search engines. The company built its business around online search and related advertising services, providing search, content aggregation and targeted ad placements to consumers and marketers across China. Baidu went public on the NASDAQ in 2005 and has since diversified beyond search into a broader technology and AI-focused portfolio.

Core products and services include the Baidu search platform and mobile app, Baidu Maps and Baidu Baike (an online encyclopedia), along with digital content initiatives.