10 Best Asian Stocks To Buy Now

3. Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU)

Upside Potential: 63.00%

Average Analyst Price Estimate: $140.51

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in internet search, online community, and other internet-related services. However, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is transitioning from an internet-centric business to an AI business. The company remains confident that AI will be a key driver of long-term revenue and profit growth.

Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is advancing its autonomous driving technology. According to Fortune Business Insights, the autonomous driving market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 32% over the next six years, reaching nearly $39 billion by 2030. Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is well-positioned to benefit from this rapidly growing market as its autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, continues to gain traction. In Q1 2024, Apollo Go provided approximately 826,000 rides, a 25% increase compared to the previous year. The service is available in over 10 cities across China and is growing rapidly, particularly in Wuhan, where it operates 24/7 and plans to roll out its sixth-generation Robotaxi, RT6. In the first quarter of 2024, fully driverless taxis in Wuhan made up 55% of all ride-hailing services.

There are currently 300 fully autonomous taxis operating in Wuhan. By the end of 2024, Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) plans to deploy 1,000 RT6 robotaxis on the streets of Wuhan. A key feature of the RT6 is its low unit cost, which costs the company around $27,500 to build and is half the cost of their previous generation vehicle. A ride in a robotaxi also costs half as compared to other traditional ride-hailing services. Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) is also actively cross-promoting ERNIE, the company’s AI chatbot service across its AI cloud, autonomous driving, and robotaxi businesses to improve user experience, boost advertiser ROI, and empower developers to build efficient applications that aim to support millions of applications developed by a wide range of enterprise and individual developers.

Baidu’s (NASDAQ:BIDU) Apollo Go Robotaxi platform could pave the way for large-scale commercial autonomous ride-hailing services. Analysts view Baidu as trading at an attractive valuation, with a forward PE ratio of 7.70, which is a  40% discount compared to the industry average of 12.91. As of August 14, the stock is priced at $86.20. Analysts have set a price target of $140.51, indicating a 63.00% upside potential from its current level.