Barclays Cuts Baidu Price Target to $128; Susquehanna Raises to $120
Barclays lowered its price target on Baidu to $128 from $147, citing growing AI revenues offset by declining advertising margins. Susquehanna lifted its target to $120, reflecting confidence in AI-driven growth and chip subsidiary performance.
1. Barclays Lowers Price Target
On March 5, Barclays cut its price target on Baidu to $128 from $147 while maintaining an Equalweight rating, highlighting diverging trends between strong AI-related revenue growth and weakening legacy advertising margins.
2. Susquehanna Raises Price Target
Susquehanna analysts increased their Baidu price target to $120 from $110 on the same day, citing confidence in the company’s AI-driven initiatives and positive performance outlook for its 60%-owned Kunlun chip subsidiary.
3. Growth Versus Advertising Pressure
Baidu’s expanding AI cloud infrastructure, AI applications and autonomous driving units face offsetting pressure as AI chatbots substitute traditional search monetization, creating uncertainty around the timing and scale of advertising revenue recovery.