In the latest market close, Baidu Inc. (BIDU) reached $81.34, with a -1.54% movement compared to the previous day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.16%. Elsewhere, the Dow gained 0.25%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.06%.

The the stock of web search company has fallen by 7.4% in the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0.17% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.8%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Baidu Inc. in its upcoming earnings disclosure. In that report, analysts expect Baidu Inc. to post earnings of $2.03 per share. This would mark a year-over-year decline of 34.09%. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $4.59 billion, indicating a 6.69% decline compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Baidu Inc. These latest adjustments often mirror the shifting dynamics of short-term business patterns. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Empirical research indicates that these revisions in estimates have a direct correlation with impending stock price performance. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Right now, Baidu Inc. possesses a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).

Looking at valuation, Baidu Inc. is presently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 8.82. This signifies a discount in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 23.26 for its industry.

Also, we should mention that BIDU has a PEG ratio of 1.48. Comparable to the widely accepted P/E ratio, the PEG ratio also accounts for the company's projected earnings growth. The average PEG ratio for the Internet - Services industry stood at 1.58 at the close of the market yesterday.

The Internet - Services industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 42, putting it in the top 17% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.