Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR)(NASDAQ:BIDU) Falls Back Below $150 Mark
Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR)(NASDAQ:BIDU) shares have fallen once again below $150 mark for the third time in the past one month. The stock is now trading lower by 2.27% to $147.95. The recent fall is largely due to in line results by its rival Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG).
Last week, the stock was up about 2% and closed above $150 mark after Rovio Entertainment Oy, creator of the “Angry Birds” mobile-phone game said that the company is negotiations with Chinese companies in including Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR)(NASDAQ:BIDU) and Sohu.com Inc. (NASDAQ:SOHU) in order to expend its popular in the world’s biggest Web market.
Rovio has recorded more than 100 million downloads for the “Angry Birds” game in China, helped by demand from users of phones running Google Inc.’s Android operating system, and Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad devices. Recently, Apple added Baidu’s Search in its iOS browser, which should provide strong support to the company’s strategy to expand its footprint in the mobile web market. Compared to the US, where smartphone penetration reached 43%, China’s smartphone penetration is only 13%, according to iResearch, implying significant upside.
The company is scheduled to report its first quarter earnings on Tuesday, April 24, 2012. Analysts are estimating Baidu to report strong quarter with average EPS estimated 84 cents a share, well above its year ago profit of 47 cents a share. Revenue is also projected to grow 82.10% to $677.51 million, from a year ago revenue of $372 million.
The company has beaten Wall Street’s estimates in the all the past four quarters. The stock has performed well so far this year as the stock is up 27% year-to-date and 1% over the past one year.
In February, the company reported better than estimated fourth quarter earnings. The company earned 93 cents a share on revenue of $710.1 million, topping analysts’ estimates of 90 cents a share on revenue of $706.6 million.