Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $186.40, but opened at $199.00. Amazon.com shares last traded at $199.81, with a volume of 26,720,238 shares trading hands.

The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $158.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.28 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 7.35% and a return on equity of 21.39%. Amazon.com’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.85 earnings per share.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on AMZN shares. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $245.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. TD Securities increased their target price on Amazon.com from $225.00 to $245.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Amazon.com from $224.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amazon.com presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $244.11.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In other news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,784 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.77, for a total transaction of $3,757,123.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,056,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,759,651.18. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Amazon.com news, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 14,600 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total value of $2,628,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,820,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,784 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.77, for a total value of $3,757,123.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,056,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,759,651.18. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,855 shares of company stock valued at $9,215,048 over the last ninety days. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amazon.com

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Advisors Inc. now owns 4,625 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Kathmere Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 71.5% during the 1st quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 8,776 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after purchasing an additional 3,658 shares during the period. Norway Savings Bank raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 26,688 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $4,814,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the period. New England Research & Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. New England Research & Management Inc. now owns 9,413 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the period. Finally, Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. Silverleafe Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $824,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 47.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a 50 day moving average of $184.82 and a 200-day moving average of $183.75.

Amazon.com Company Profile

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.