Baidu price target lowered to $135 from $180 at Benchmark

Benchmark lowered the firm’s price target on Baidu to $135 from $180 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares ahead of the scheduled Q2 report due on Aug 22. The firm has lowered Q2 estimates to reflect concerns on weaker-than-expected ad growth in the quarter, as checks suggested incremental growth pressure on ads as a result of both a soft macro backdrop and Baidu’s continued commitment to incorporating incremental GenAI content in its search results, which creates a monetization set-back with reduced ad inventory.