Baidu is looking to release a ChatGPT rival
U.S.-listed shares of Chinese internet name Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU) are surging in premarket trading, after announcing its own ChatGPT-style artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot.
Baidu stock was last seen 12.2% higher at $160.19, on news that the company's "Ernie Bot," or "Wenxin Yiyan" in Chinese, is in development, with internal testing projected for completion in early March. The news follows of Google announcing its own AI chatbot, Bard A.I.
Should these early-morning gains hold, BIDU will open at its highest level since March 2022. The equity will also add to a slim 6% year-over-year lead, as well as its 45.5% year-to-date lead.
Calls, meanwhile, are much more popular than usual in the options pits. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), the security's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 2.04 ranks higher than 81% of readings from the past year.
What's more, now may be a good time for near-term traders to jump onto Baidu stock with options. This is per the equity's Schaeffer's Volatility Index (SVI) of 59%, which ranks in the relatively low 30th percentile of its annual range. This suggests that muted volatility expectations have been priced into short-term BIDU options.