Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Hits New 52-Week High on Analyst Upgrade

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) hit a new 52-week high on Thursday after Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on the stock from $210.00 to $250.00. Needham & Company LLC currently has a buy rating on the stock. Amazon.com traded as high as $215.90 and last traded at $212.69, with a volume of 6408508 shares. The stock had previously closed at $214.10.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Pivotal Research started coverage on Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $260.00 target price on the stock. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target 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. Maxim Group raised their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $251.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $215.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other Amazon.com news, SVP David Zapolsky sold 2,190 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total value of $427,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 62,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,171,900. This trade represents a 3.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 14,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.00, for a total transaction of $2,628,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,820,000. This trade represents a 22.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,053,349 shares of company stock valued at $1,256,503,289 over the last 90 days. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMZN. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 20,897.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 39,135,449 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $72,921,080,000 after buying an additional 38,949,065 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 785,811,114 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $141,744,609,000 after buying an additional 14,724,687 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Amazon.com during the first quarter worth $2,239,757,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Amazon.com by 64.6% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 29,359,677 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $5,295,899,000 after purchasing an additional 11,524,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Amazon.com by 82,457.3% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 11,405,294 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $2,125,148,000 after purchasing an additional 11,391,479 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amazon.com Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $189.87 and a 200-day moving average of $185.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.22 trillion, a P/E ratio of 45.53, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.29. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 22.41% and a net margin of 8.04%. The firm had revenue of $158.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 5.27 EPS for the current year.

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.