Several Analysts Say Buy the Weakness in Chinese Internet Stocks (RENN) (YOKU) (BIDU)

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Positive analyst comments on Chinese Internet stocks this morning may be helping the group catch a decent bid Tuesday.

Continued controversy on accounting practices in China has weighed on the sector over the last month or so: Renren (NYSE: RENN) down 67 percent from its high, Youku.com (NYSE: YOKU) down 60 percent, China Dangdang (NYSE: DANG) down 70 percent, Sina (Nasdaq: SINA) down 40 percent and even Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU), often considered the Google of China, is down 24%.

Below are some highlights from a number of earlier analyst reports:

Nomura - Believes further price "overreaction" could create a buying opportunity. Notes the stocks of Internet companies are sometimes preferred for "parking money" as they have limited exposure to a macro-based slowdown. While the firm admits the recent worries over China stocks has not been "groundless," Nomura points out business fundamentals have not changed.

Following recent meets with management at Yoku.com, Nomura iterates company fundamentals are unchanged and advertising remains strong. The firm attributes recent weakness in the stock to fraud allegations at US-listed Chinese companies like Longtop (NYSE: LFT) and Sino-Forest (OTC: SNOFF)
Credit Suisse - Firm believes right now could be a good time to "pick quality stocks" as shares are often "wrongly punished" at the peak of a scandal despite fundamentals. Prefers E-House (China) Holdings (NYSE: EJ), Sina, 7 Days (NYSE: SVN) and China Lodging (Nasdaq: HTHT), among others.
Pacific Crest - initiated coverage on shares of Renren with an Outperform rating and an $11 price target.