Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) Remains Interesting Growth Story Says Kaufman

With Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) dominating the tech news recently, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) and others have been quietly in the background, although that should change when it reports earnings on Monday, which should reinforce their growth narrative as a long and sustainable one.

Kaufman says, "Baidu reports 4Q results Monday, January 31st after the close. We estimate 4Q gross revenues of $364M (97% Y/Y, 93% constant currency, 8% Q/Q), which is in line with the consensus estimate of $362M and at the high end of BIDU's guidance range of $354.2M-$364.7M. We estimate over 13,000 net new customer additions for 4Q from 272,000 reported in 3Q. We expect average revenue per customer to be up 54% Y/Y and 3% Q/Q. We expect PF EPS to be largely in line with our and the consensus estimate of $0.46; however, we would not be surprised to see the company come in modestly above this number with the potential for better than expected operating leverage. We anticipate that the company may issue conservative 1Q11 top-line guidance, perhaps lower at the midpoint than the current consensus of $354M."

Kaufman Bros. maintains a 'Buy' rating on Baidu (BIDU), which was trading at $109.63, gaining $1.68, or 1.56 percent, as of 2:34 PM EST. Kaufman has a price target on Baidu of $118.