Investors Optimistic on Prospects for Qihoo Deal with Sugou; Maxim Boosted QIHU Target to $72

Shares of Qihoo 360 Technology QIHU are outperforming the broader stock market Tuesday afternoon, likely on the heels of a positive note from Maxim's Echo He earlier this morning. The stock last traded at $62.28, up more than 2.5 percent from Monday's close. The Maxim analyst boosted his price target on the stock from $48 to $72 well in advance of the company's quarterly results, expected out the week of August 18th. The current Wall Street consensus for Qihoo's second quarter sits at $0.26 for EPS on sales of around $143 million. He believes there is a "good chance of success" for a deal between Qihoo and Sohu.com SOHU related to Sogou. With the addition of Sogou, the analyst suggested Qihoo's search traffic could hit 20 percent, effectively threatening Baidu BIDU. Maxim maintains a Buy rating on shares of Qihoo. The analyst's new price target represents potential upside of about 16 percent from where the stock is currently trading.