Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Up 1.1% - Should You Buy?

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shot up 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $175.52 and last traded at $172.55. 24,223,769 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 41,044,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Amazon.com from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $246.00 to $306.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Amazon.com from $207.00 to $203.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Amazon.com from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $258.19.

Amazon.com Price Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $204.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.96 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.43, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.06.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.34. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 9.29%. Sell-side analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 8,833 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.47, for a total transaction of $1,965,077.51. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 119,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,647,456.60. The trade was a 6.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.99, for a total value of $469,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 509,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,776,017.26. This trade represents a 0.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 104,798 shares of company stock worth $23,341,803 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cable Hill Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC now owns 9,588 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $2,104,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Amazon.com by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 234 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Northern Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,353 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,613,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. White Wing Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. White Wing Wealth Management now owns 1,972 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $433,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC grew its position in Amazon.com by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 8,578 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $1,889,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.