Chinese search giant Baidu reportedly hits low after investment bank Credit Suisse downgraded the company to underperform. Credit Suisse is the third bank in the row to downgrade Baidu rating this month, Bloomberg notes. Earlier Raymond James Financial had changed its rating to outperform while Jefferies Group had dropped rating so as to hold recommendation.
As soon as Credit Suisse dropped down the rating, stock price of Baidu fell 6.8 percent on Tuesday and company traded at $106.49 at the end of the day, down $7.80. Wallace Cheung, an analyst at Credit Suisse in Hong Kong, wrote in an e-mailed report, Baidu’s domination of the Internet search market is “waning.” A slowing Chinese advertising market will also put pressure on the company’s profit, he said.
