Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Amazon.com, Inc. has received a consensus recommendation of "Buy" from 49 research firms, with a 1-year price target averaging $254.33.
• Insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold over 2.6 million shares of Amazon stock for approximately $609 million, representing a 0.30% decrease in his ownership.
• The company's recent quarterly earnings report showed $1.59 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations and an 8.6% revenue increase year-over-year.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) has been given an average rating of "Buy" by the forty-nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-five have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $255.52.

Several research firms recently commented on AMZN. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $233.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $287.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $220.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $226.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd.

Amazon.com Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ AMZN traded down $0.82 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $230.19. The stock had a trading volume of 32,258,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 33,970,456. The business's 50 day moving average is $217.31 and its 200-day moving average is $209.12. The company has a market cap of $2.44 trillion, a P/E ratio of 37.49, a PEG ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.33. Amazon.com has a 52 week low of $151.61 and a 52 week high of $242.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $155.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $154.96 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 10.14% and a return on equity of 24.14%. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Amazon.com will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 2,643,142 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.43, for a total value of $609,059,211.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 883,779,901 shares in the company, valued at $203,649,402,587.43. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,102,037 shares of company stock worth $5,674,871,223. Insiders own 9.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMZN. KPP Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. KPP Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,492 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $10,419,000 after acquiring an additional 754 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 271,849 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $59,641,000 after acquiring an additional 27,022 shares in the last quarter. Canal Insurance CO purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the 2nd quarter worth $3,291,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA now owns 2,214,778 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $485,900,000 after acquiring an additional 14,542 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Advisory LLC now owns 72,739 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $15,958,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.