Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Trading Up 1.8% – Here’s Why

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) traded up 1.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $229.14 and last traded at $229.05. 15,007,497 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 64% from the average session volume of 41,260,012 shares. The stock had previously closed at $225.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Amazon.com from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Amazon.com from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a “market outperform” rating and set a $285.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $243.00.

Amazon.com Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 49.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s 50 day moving average is $207.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $158.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.28 billion. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 22.41% and a net margin of 8.04%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 5,502 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.81, for a total transaction of $1,132,366.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,911 shares in the company, valued at $106,797,072.91. The trade was a 1.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel P. Huttenlocher sold 1,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.06, for a total value of $246,237.22. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,958,982.72. The trade was a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,032,344 shares of company stock valued at $1,253,456,822. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Amazon.com by 20.5% in the third quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150,661 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 25,581 shares during the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 64.6% in the 2nd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 163 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Hoese & Co LLP bought a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Values First Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Amazon.com in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero; and develops and produces media content.