Baidu Inc BIDU is shifting its focus noticeably from vision to execution in some of its most future-focused opportunities like its moves into Internet of Things, cloud computing and autonomous driving, Bank of America said following the Chinese company’s developer conference.
The Analyst
Bank of America analyst Eddie Leung maintained a Buy rating on Baidu with a $213 price target.
The Thesis
Baidu is ready to move off the drawing board with its Internet of Things business, Leung said, citing the company’s Duer operating system for smart devices and in-car internet. Leung expects the system to generate material post-sales revenue in the next one to three years.
The cloud computing business is also now in the execution phase, and Leung predicted it could be approaching a self-sustaining status in three to five years.
Leung also said Baidu presented multiple applications based on its free AI platform, called Paddle Paddle, with uses from finance to transportation to meteorology.
Autonomous driving may take a little longer to reach mass scale, however, he said.
“The eco-system of autonomous driving continues to grow but use cases are mainly in controlled environments such as farmlands and industrial parks or for specific uses like velvet parking,” Leung wrote in the note.
There is a promising footnote to that, however, though still in the testing phase. Baidu last year received a license for large-scale testing of driverless cars on the “complex road conditions” presented in the teeming city of Beijing.
Price Action
Baidu shares closed Monday down 2.66% at $113.20.
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