We recently compiled a list of the Top 10 AI News Updates This Weekend. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) stands against the other AI stocks.
According to JP Morgan, the S&P will propel to new heights this New Year, and artificial intelligence is one of the reasons why. Besides AI, Strategist Dubravko Lakos-Bujas pointed to a resilient economy and the possibility of easier industry regulations as reasons for the boost, setting 6,500 as his 2025 target for the broad market index.
The U.S. will remain “the global growth engine with the business cycle in expansion, a healthy labor market, broadening of AI-related capital spending, and prospect of stronger capital market and deal activity”.
– Lakos-Bujas.
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US equities have already enjoyed a strong 2024, up 26% year to date due to enthusiasm around AI and a resilient economy. A tighter labor market, record wealth, and “potentially lower energy prices” are also reasons to celebrate. Investors have been happy about Donald Trump’s win as well, noted Lakos-Bujas, fueling their expectations of lower taxes and deregulation across industries.
“Heightened geopolitical uncertainty and the evolving policy agenda are introducing unusual complexity to the outlook, but opportunities are likely to outweigh risks. The benefit of deregulation and a more business-friendly environment are likely underestimated along with potential for unlocking productivity gains and capital deployment”.
In other news, artificial intelligence is stepping in to keep the Thanksgiving cheer alive, making sure holiday staples stay abundant and affordable for years to come.
“Cranberry production is challenging … [and] growers are really concerned about heat stress events”.
– Dr. Jeffrey Neyhart
Artificial intelligence is helping by speeding up the process of identifying heat-resistant varieties for cranberries. Researchers like Dr. Neyhart are using AI to save years of work and improve crop resilience in the face of climate change.
For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
A modern internet space with a person using Baidu services on a laptop.
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54
Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) is a Chinese internet giant and AI pioneer, known for its noteworthy investments in artificial intelligence technology and its position as the dominant search engine within the country.
On November 27, JPMorgan analyst Alex Yao downgraded Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) to “Neutral” from Overweight. The downgrade comes from sharply decreasing macro earnings visibility due to uncertainty about the macro environment and the impact of its generative AI content. As a result, the firm has lowered its 2025 earnings outlook for Baidu, cutting estimates by 21%, 17% below Bloomberg’s consensus. The firm also forecasts Baidu’s core ads revenue growth weakness will bottom out in Q1 of 2025, followed by acceleration in each of the following quarters; albeit at an uncertain pace.
Overall BIDU ranks 7th on our list of the trending AI stocks this weekend. While we acknowledge the potential of BIDU as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than BIDU but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.