Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Price Up 2.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s stock price traded up 2.2% on Tuesday after Moffett Nathanson raised their price target on the stock from $235.00 to $248.00. Moffett Nathanson currently has a buy rating on the stock. Amazon.com traded as high as $201.95 and last traded at $201.45. 40,685,672 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 2% from the average session volume of 41,550,199 shares. The stock had previously closed at $197.12.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $197.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Amazon.com from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Amazon.com from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $236.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amazon.com currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.20.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 2,996,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.85, for a total transaction of $625,790,203.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 917,416,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $191,602,535,437.60. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 5,502 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.81, for a total value of $1,132,366.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 518,911 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,797,072.91. This trade represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,026,683 shares of company stock valued at $1,252,148,795 over the last ninety days. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amazon.com

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 1.3% in the third quarter. Asset Advisors Investment Management LLC now owns 116,869 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $21,776,000 after purchasing an additional 1,499 shares during the last quarter. Tri Ri Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Amazon.com during the 3rd quarter worth about $9,821,000. Optimist Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,942,000. Blankinship & Foster LLC increased its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 216.4% in the third quarter. Blankinship & Foster LLC now owns 6,930 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $1,291,000 after buying an additional 4,740 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 61.8% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 298,678 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $55,653,000 after acquiring an additional 114,043 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $193.75 and a 200 day moving average of $186.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Amazon.com had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 22.41%. The firm had revenue of $158.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

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.