Oct. 22, 2010, 2:20 p.m. EDT
Baidu, Chipotle may stay busy in evening.
By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Baidu Inc. shares may hold investors’ attention Friday evening following day session advances in the wake of the search-engine provider’s quarterly profit surge.
Baidu shares /quotes/comstock/15*!bidu/quotes/nls/bidu (BIDU 108.68, +6.20, +6.05%) recently rose 4.9% to $107.44, bulking up their year-to-date gains which have more than doubled. The shares this year are the best performers on the Nasdaq-100 Index.
The China-based company late Thursday said third-quarter earnings climbed to 1.05 billion yuan ($156.4 million), or 45 cents per American depositary share, from a year ago. Excluding one-time items, the company would have reported earnings of 46 cents an ADS. Revenue jumped 76% to 2.26 billion yuan, or $337.2 million from a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research estimated 43 cents an ADS on revenue of $318.9 million. Read more about Baidu's results.
S&P Equity Research on Friday raised its rating on Baidu’s shares to buy from hold, and lifted some of its projections including a price-target increase to $140 from $90. “We note that [Baidu] still trades at P/E-to-growth discounts to China/U.S.-based peers,” wrote Scott Kessler, an S&P information technology analyst , in a note to clients.
Also rising during the day were shares of Riverbed Technology Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!rvbd/quotes/nls/rvbd (RVBD 54.11, +8.24, +17.96%) , up 21% to $55.34 in the wake of its quarterly results and upgrades by at least three analysts. Riverbed makes technologies that help data centers run faster. Riverbed Tech shares rally Friday.
Analysts also had positive comments for Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!cmg/quotes/nls/cmg (CMG 206.64, +27.39, +15.28%) following the company’s quarterly results issued Thursday. The shares crossed $200 during Friday’s trading session. Read about Chipotle’s shares.
But shares of Leggett & Platt Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!leg/quotes/nls/leg (LEG 20.79, -2.20, -9.57%) were among Friday’s decliners, losing nearly 9% to $21. The diversified manufacturer, whose products include components for beds, recliners and machinery, late Thursday posted third-quarter results that missed expectations. Leggett & Platt shares under pressure.
Ahead of the late-trading session, U.S. stocks swung between small gains and losses, with gains held limited by investor caution as the Group of 20 finance ministers met. U.S. stocks fluctuate in Friday’s session.
The S&P 500 Index /quotes/comstock/21z!i1:in\x (SPX 1,181, +0.97, +0.08%) recently rose 1 point to 1,181 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 11,114, -32.81, -0.29%) fell 27 points to 11,119. The Nasdaq Composite Index /quotes/comstock/10y!i:comp (COMP 2,477, +16.86, +0.69%) rose 15 points, or 0.6%, to 2,474.
Carla Mozee is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in Los Angeles.
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