Stifel Nicolaus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Price

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) had its target price cut by Stifel Nicolaus from $248.00 to $245.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the e-commerce giant's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price suggests a potential upside of 28.96% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $287.00 to $206.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Amazon.com from $280.00 to $245.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $243.55.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

AMZN stock traded down $0.22 on Friday, hitting $189.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 77,794,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 41,694,379. Amazon.com has a 1 year low of $151.61 and a 1 year high of $242.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market cap of $2.02 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $190.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.92.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.21. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 9.29%. The company had revenue of $155.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $154.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Amazon.com will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.99, for a total transaction of $469,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 509,474 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $95,776,017.26. The trade was a 0.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,784 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.65, for a total value of $4,585,989.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,118,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $467,532,195.90. The trade was a 0.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 104,798 shares of company stock valued at $23,341,803. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Carson Advisory Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Carson Advisory Inc. now owns 4,777 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $909,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Sachetta LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 3.6% in the first quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 10,401 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,979,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Burling Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Burling Wealth Partners LLC now owns 109,257 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $20,787,000 after buying an additional 1,523 shares during the period. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. grew its position in shares of Amazon.com by 61.1% in the first quarter. Retirement Planning Co of New England Inc. now owns 33,071 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $6,292,000 after purchasing an additional 12,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acas LLC increased its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 1.5% in the first quarter. Acas LLC now owns 24,712 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $4,700,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is 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.