UPDATE: Jefferies & Company Downgrades Baidu.com to Hold, Lowers PT

In a report published Monday, Jefferies & Company downgraded its rating on Baidu.com BIDU from Buy to Hold, and lowered its price target from $135.00 to $125.00. Jefferies noted, “Given the latest competitive entry of Qihu360 into the generalist search space, we revisited our investment thesis on Baidu. As a result of search traffic market share shift and inevitable increase in TAC for traffic from Union partners, we now expect both revenue and profit downside vs. Street from 4Q12 – FY14E. At current price, valuation multiples look full based on our revised estimates. Downgrade to Hold, PT cut by 7% to USD125.” Baidu.com closed on Friday at $116.89.