The most recent trading session ended with Baidu Inc. (BIDU) standing at $94.01, reflecting a -0.84% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.19%. Elsewhere, the Dow lost 0.7%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq added 0.04%.

Heading into today, shares of the web search company had gained 11.78% over the past month, outpacing the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 0.73% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.95% in that time.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Baidu Inc. in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is expected to report EPS of $2.73, down 2.5% from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.84 billion, up 2.53% from the year-ago period.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $11.17 per share and a revenue of $19.23 billion, indicating changes of -1.93% and +1.86%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors might also notice recent changes to analyst estimates for Baidu Inc. Recent revisions tend to reflect the latest near-term business trends. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the company's business performance and profit potential.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, there's been a 2.33% fall in the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. Right now, Baidu Inc. possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, Baidu Inc. is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.49. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 30.63, which means Baidu Inc. is trading at a discount to the group.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 134, putting it in the bottom 48% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks 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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