Group 1 - Baidu's stock in Hong Kong rose over 3%, leading to a pre-market increase of over 3% for its US shares [1] - Haitong International upgraded Baidu's valuation method from Price-to-Earnings (PE) to Sum-of-the-Parts (SoTP) due to the new CFO's strategy to "unlock hidden assets" [1] - Baidu is reshaping its traditional business in the wake of the large language model (LLM) trend and aims to surpass competitors in the cloud market through various measures [1] Group 2 - Specific measures include adjusting traditional search operations, enriching AI SaaS products, providing cost-effective and reliable cloud infrastructure, and building an open foundational model ecosystem [1] - The valuation adjustment considers a 45% discount, resulting in a total market value of $64 billion, or a target price of $188 per ADR, corresponding to a projected 22x PE for fiscal year 2025 [1]

Core Viewpoint - Haitong International has revised its valuation method for Baidu from Price-to-Earnings (PE) to Sum-of-the-Parts (SoTP) due to the new CFO's strategy of "unlocking hidden assets" and the company's efforts to reshape its traditional business amidst the large language model (LLM) wave [1] Group 1: Business Strategy - Baidu is seeking opportunities to surpass competitors in the cloud market by adjusting its traditional search business [1] - The company aims to enrich its AI SaaS product offerings [1] - Baidu is focused on providing cost-effective and highly reliable cloud infrastructure [1] - The company is committed to building an open foundational model ecosystem [1] Group 2: Valuation and Price Target - The valuation for Baidu has been increased, considering a 45% discount for the overall enterprise, resulting in a total market value of $64 billion, or a target price of $188 per ADR [1] - In a bullish scenario, the target price could rise to $246 per ADR, corresponding to a projected 29 times PE for the fiscal year 2025 [1] - The rating for Baidu is maintained at "Outperform" [1]