Baidu (BIDU) shares are getting a boost this morning from Deutsche Bank analyst Alan Hellawell, who launched coverage of the Chinese search engine company this morning with a Buy rating and a $211 price target. Moreover, he says a “blue-sky scenario” yields a valuation of $432. (Sounds ambitious, although I would note that the 52-week high for the stock is $382.90.)

Hellawell notes that the Chinese search market is a duopoly, with 62 percent market share for Baidu, and 28 percent for Google (GOOG); he also notes that the market is “still nascent,” and should grow 37 percent compounded through 2012.

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Has Nintendo run out of new levels to play?

Deutsche Bank analyst Satoru Kikuchi this morning launched coverage of the videogame company with a Sell rating, asserting that profits are likely to “peak and decline after growing on the success of the Wii and the DS.” He asserts that earnings could “return to past levels if the company fails to come up with new blockbuster platforms.”

Kikuchi expects Nintendo’s profits in the March 2009 fiscal year to “slightly” excess guidance, but then sees profits sliding 18 percent in FY 2010, due at least in part to unfavorable exchange rates, with another 19 percent fall in FY 2011 “as sales slow.”

In Kikuchi’’s view, a key question going forward is well much Nintendo can boost sales for long-selling titles for the Wii and the DS. He notes that sales in Japan have “declined substantially” for both Wii and DS hardware and software.

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There was an article about Blockbuster (BBI) on Venture Beat yesterday. The trading of the stock was halted after it dropped 77 percent because apparently the company is seeking to file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

I worked for Blockbuster for a brief period of time after Bankers Trust (another defunct company–now part of Deutsche Bank) and before CRV. I was the President of BBI responsible for new media. I got there right before their second IPO as it spun out of Viacom (VIA) and left right before the now infamous Enron deal.

It was an excellent career move for me and despite my short time there I learned a lot, got to do a lot and almost became the kingpin of cable!

Here is the story of what almost happened.

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The bears on Palm (PALM) continue to cave after a furious rally in the stock following the company’s announcement of its “new newness,” the Palm Web OS and the Palm Pre handset.

Yesterday, the stock was upgraded by former Palm bears at Citigroup and Deutsche Bank. This morning, UBS analyst Maynard Um made a similar move, raising his rating to Neutral from Sell, and upping his price target to $6.50 from $1.35. “The Palm Pre generated significant buzz at CES, surprised us to the upside and breathed new life into Palm’s stagnant portfolio,” he wrote in a research note. “Though the company still has challenges ahead, it’s clear the winds now appear to have shifted in its favor.”

Um raised his EPS estimate for the May 2010 fiscal year to positive 48 cents from a loss of 52 cents. His revenue forecast for the year jumps to $1.68 billion, from $1 billion.

Um also set a short-term Buy rating on the stock ahead of the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona in February; he thinks the company will announced a 3G version of the phone, as well as potentially a carrier.

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DISH Network (DISH) shares are getting clobbered today after rival DirecTV (DTV) late Friday announced that it has cut a deal with AT&T (T) to sell a co-branded version of the DirecTV service starting after Jan. 31. AT&T previously had a distribution deal with DISH.

Deutsche Bank’s Doug Mitchelson this morning responded to the news by cutting his rating on DISH to Hold from Buy; he chopped his target price on the stock to $31 from $51. He writes that the loss of AT&T “calls into question DISH’s ability to grow subs in 2009.” He says that AT&T will contribute 441,000 gross adds to DISH in 2008, and about 213,000 net adds–or more than the total 150,000 he expects for DISH as a whole.

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Marvell (MVRL) shares are down sharply again today, pressured this morning by Deutsche Bank analyst Arnab Chanda, who cut his rating on the stock to Hold from Buy. He cut his target price on the stock to $15 from $20.

“Following checks with industry contacts, we believe Marvell is not likely to see significant upside in the next six months, both due to weakness in Europe and Asia, as well as slower-than-expected product ramps” at Research In Motion (RIMM) and Seagate (STX), he wrote in a research note. “While we recognize that the company detailed some of these issues in their recent conference call, we still believe that it is prudent to move to the sidelines, given estimates could get cut” into fiscal Q4.

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Deutsche Bank’s Jonathan Goldberg advises against holding a short position in Palm (PALM) heading into the company’s earnings report and conference call after the close on Thursday. Goldberg is no bull on the stock; he maintains a Sell rating on the shares and a $4 price target. But he also notes that 38% of the shares are sold short, while 10 holders account for almost 70% of the shares outstanding. Goldberg notes that “in recent weeks, even minor positive news reports have sparked outsize increases for PALM stock.”

Goldberg write in a research note that the company should print “strong unit numbers with weak profitability levels, similar to their results all year,” but contends that outcome is already in the stock.

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Thing just keep getting worse for Motorola (MOT). Battered today by negative notes from several analysts, the stock is headed for its lowest close in 5 years. And it isn’t all the company’s fault: there are mounting concerns on the Street that expectations for the handset market in general for 2008 are simply too high.

Deutsche Bank’s Brian Modoff cut his 2008 unit forecast for the global handset market to 6.1% from 8.1%; he had entered the year expecting 11% growth. Modoff says that consumer globally are stretching out the replacement cycle, “holding off on purchases to pay for gas or food or the mortgage.”

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