Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Gap Down - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Amazon.com shares gapped down before trading on Friday, opening at $217.21 after a previous close of $234.11.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets, with reports indicating targets ranging from $195.00 to $285.00, maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Insider trading was significant, with Jeffrey P. Bezos selling over 2.6 million shares, while institutional investors collectively own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $234.11, but opened at $217.21. Amazon.com shares last traded at $219.52, with a volume of 30,007,700 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on AMZN. Pivotal Research upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $230.00 to $266.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $271.00 price target (up from $249.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Monday. JMP Securities reiterated a "market outperform" rating and issued a $285.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $226.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-seven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $260.85.

Amazon.com Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.31. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $218.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $209.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.37. Amazon.com had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The business had revenue of $167.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 2,643,142 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.43, for a total transaction of $609,059,211.06. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 883,779,901 shares of the company's stock, valued at $203,649,402,587.43. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 25,099,537 shares of company stock worth $5,674,394,548 over the last ninety days. 9.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMZN. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. LSV Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company's stock.

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.