UPDATE: Barclays Capital Upgrades Baidu on Multiple Positive Factors

In a report published Thursday, Barclays Capital analyst Alicia Yap upgraded Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) from Equal-Weight to Overweight, and raised the price target from $98.00 to $153.00.

In the report, Barclays Capital noted, “Three reasons for our rating upgrade: 1) 3Q13 revenue guidance indicates the first signs of re-acceleration, driven mainly by PPS consolidation and a faster-than-expected ramp of mobile monetization leading us to raise our 2013-15 revenue forecasts by 4.9%, 9.9% and 13.2%, respectively; 2) the mobile transition is progressing well, possibly driving further acceleration of top-line growth, so we increase our target multiple to 25x from 20x to reflect a potential re-rating of the stock; 3) if the proposed acquisition of 91 Wireless goes through, it would help Baidu reposition its mobile strategy and overall mobile ecosystem. We also roll forward the base year for our PT to 2014 earnings (from 2013), hence we base our PT on 25x 2014 non-GAAP EPADS of US$6.12.”

Baidu closed on Wednesday at $113.40.