Piper Jaffray: Baidu.com Still a Top Pick in China

In a research report published earlier today by Piper Jaffray, significant growth opportunities exist for Baidu.com

. According to Piper Jaffray, “We continue to view shares of BIDU positively as one of our top picks in China based on the current valuation. Shares of BIDU trade at 23x our FY13 EPS target, significantly lower than our expected 41% earnings growth. We believe a significant growth opportunity exists for Baidu, particularly in the SME market. Comparing Baidu to Google when Google was at similar revenue levels, the path to continued mid double digit growth appears clear for the next 3-4 years. While there are unlikely to be specific catalysts to BIDU in the next few months, we believe the company continuing to deliver quarters with slight upside will make investors more comfortable without year growth rates and improve the multiple.” Piper Jaffray maintains its Overweight rating and $202 PT on Baidu.com, which closed yesterday at $150.80.