Baidu Stock (BIDU) Jumps on Upgrade as Price Target Get’s Huge Increase

Baidu's stock (NASDAQ: BIDU) is trading 2.97% higher in the pre-market session, boosted following a JPMorgan upgrade on BIDU to “Overweight” from “Neutral,” with a huge boost in the price target. The upward shift signals a belief in Baidu's strategic move towards AI and cloud computing as primary growth drivers.

The price target was raised from $110, to a lofty $188, 64% above where the stock is trading this morning.

JPMorgan's rationale centers on Baidu's departure from its traditional advertising-centric model. The financial institution projects a substantial acceleration in Baidu's cloud revenue growth, estimating an increase from approximately 23% in 2025 to around 61% in 2026.

This surge is expected to be fueled by a six-fold increase in sales of Baidu's Kunlun AI chips, potentially reaching 8 billion yuan in 2026. These domestically produced chips are gaining traction within China, particularly among hyperscalers, telecom operators, and state-owned enterprises, driven by the need for domestic hardware solutions amid U.S. export controls.

JPMorgan estimates the value of Baidu's AI-driven cloud segment at approximately $34 billion, which constitutes more than half of the firm's updated valuation. The bank also highlighted strong recurring revenue from GPU-based cloud subscriptions, which surged 128% year-on-year in the third quarter and are projected to more than double again in 2026. Baidu has deployed over 30,000 accelerators, supporting both its own AI models and enterprise customer inference workloads.

Other analysts have also weighed in on Baidu's prospects, with Goldman Sachs raising its price target to $155, maintaining a “Buy” rating. In contrast, earlier this year, Citi analysts reduced their price target for Baidu to $139 from $141, while maintaining a “Buy” rating.

The upgrade from JPMorgan underscores growing confidence in Baidu's strategic pivot toward AI and cloud computing. The projected acceleration in cloud revenue and the successful deployment of Kunlun AI chips position Baidu favorably within China's tech landscape, especially amid increasing demand for domestic AI solutions. 

The stock trades 34% higher YTD leading into today's session, although remains 25% lower than the highs hit just last month.