The article was written by Motek Moyen Research Seeking Alpha’s #1 Writer on Long Ideas and #2 in Technology  – Senior Analyst at I Know First.

BIDU Stock Price Prediction

Summary:

• Like Google, China’s search engine giant Baidu is also very interested in producing commercial self-driving cars.
• The target of Baidu is to mass produce autonomous cars by year 2021.
• Baidu and Intel are formulating software solutions and data center infrastructure for safer autonomous cars.
• Baidu and Ford also recently invested $150 million in self-driving car tech developer Velodyne.
• It’s time to go long on BIDU. The stock has very strong buy signals based on its near and long-term algorithmic forecasts.

China’s search engine and digital advertising giant, Baidu (BIDU) is confident that it will be able to deliver mass-market self-driving cars by 2021. Alphabet (GOOG), the global leader in search and digital advertising also wants to bring commercial autonomous cars by 2020. In my view, I think Baidu will roll out its consumer self-driving car before Alphabet does.

I say this because Baidu has formidable partners in Intel (INTC) and Ford (F). Baidu and Intel are already evaluating and developing compute and data center solutions to make self-driving cars safer. What this means is that Baidu won’t have to spend too much on research and development to make its self-driving car. Intel will do the heavy lifting (and resource spending) to create safer self-driving vehicles under the Baidu brand.

Getting government approval for self-driving cars require Intel and Baidu to meet strict safety standards. Baidu is now using China-made $9,000 Chery EQ electric car for its prototype autonomous car testing.

(Source: Engadget)

Time is also of the essence. Baidu is not the only Chinese firm with ambitious plans for consumer autonomous vehicles. LeEco (formerly LeTV), China’s biggest online streaming video service provider, is also allocating $3 billion to build a self-driving car factory in Zhejiang, China. Baidu has the money to match LeEco’s spending power. However, it still needs Intel’s expertise in computing, data center infrastructure, sensors, and Artificial Intelligence.

Baidu Can Freeload On Intel’s Interest In Autonomous Cars

Intel will provide the 5G connectivity, computer processors, sensors, artificial intelligence, Xeon Phi servers, and software interface for Baidu’s autonomous car project. The initial primary duty of Baidu will likely be to test prototypes of anyIntel-powered self-driving car. Baidu will help Intel hone its mettle in developing autonomous cars based on its x86 processors. Due to the declining PC market, Intel needs to find new markets for its processor products.

Unfortunately for Intel, Nvidia (NVDA) seems to have an early lead in car application processors. Nvidia recently unveiled its souped-up Tegra Parker Driver PX2 processor for autonomous cars. Baidu’s eagerness to build consumer self-driving cars is timely for Intel’s desire to compete with Nvidia on car-specific processors.

Building Strong Ties With Ford

Ford also teamed up with Baidu in investing $150 million on Velodyne. Velodyne has been working on its LiDAR (Light, Detection, and Radar) technology for autonomous cars since 2005. LiDAR uses light waves instead of radio waves to create 3D maps for autonomous navigation. Elon Musk prefers radio waves technology for Tesla’s (TSLA) self-driving car. Unfortunately, radio waves-based semi-autonomous driving incurred a blow when a Tesla Model S driver got killed during on autopilot driving mode.

Tesla also removed the Autopilot feature from its Chinese website after its car again featured in a crash. I believe Baidu and Ford’s future self-driving car models will use Velodyne’s LiDAR technology. Ford has also been Baidu’s partner in providing in-vehicle infotainment services since 2013.

I speculate that Ford could eventually become the manufacturing partner for Baidu’s future self-driving car models. Unlike LeEco, Baidu will likely rely on other car manufacturers like Ford to mass produce its autonomous cars. Baidu doesn’t have to spend $3 billion to build a factory like LeEco.

Conclusion

Investors interested in getting an early-bird advantage over the coming self-driving car industry boom should consider adding Baidu to their portfolios. Due to Baidu’s special status as one China’s largest tech firm, I believe it will receive state backing for its self-driving car ambitions. It will be a master public relations coup for China if Baidu beats Google in producing a government-approved autonomous car.

Baidu has great allies in Intel and Ford to augment its research in self-driving cars. These three firms collaborating is likely to deliver Baidu’s aim to release a consumer autonomous car by 2021.

My Buy rating for BIDU is also supported by its strong buy signals from near and long-term algorithmic forecasts. The August 26 chart below from I Know First is a strong endorsement for investors to go long on BIDU now.

Analysis of BIDU’s technical indicators and moving averages is also largely favorable for the buy-side community. Baidu’s stock is unlikely to head south considering its very positive long-term technical indicators.

(Source: Investing.com)