UPDATE: Bank of America Raises PO on Qihoo on Mobile Monetization with Growing Search

In a report published on Tuesday, Bank of America analyst Chao Wang raised the price objective on Qihoo (NYSE: QIHU) from $41 to $50, and reiterated a Buy rating.

In the report, Bank of America stated, "Management also indicates that they have stepped up monetization on the PC front. Armed with 94m daily active users on its landing page on PC, company is trying to encourage higher conversion rates of its webgames and to induce higher spending from advertisers by performance-based pricing model. We therefore increase 13E/ 14E ad sales (ex-search) by 15%/ 14% to US$530m/683m, and 13E/ 14E game sales (ex-mobile) by 27%/ 12% to US$156m/180m. Together they will form 63% of total sales in 14 and an important profit driver given the higher op leverage of these businesses that have passed the peak of the investment stage."

Qihoo closed at $44.19 on Monday.