Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Price Up 2.5% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Amazon shares rose 2.5% to $265.84 amid optimism over growth in its core businesses, including AWS, artificial intelligence and retail.
• AWS revenue reportedly grew 37% year over year to $42.2 billion, while Amazon plans to invest approximately $18 billion in Louisiana data-center infrastructure and expand Prime Air drone delivery to nearly 500 U.S. locations by the end of 2026.
• Analyst sentiment remains bullish: Amazon has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $322.56 average price target, although heavy AI infrastructure spending and intensifying cloud competition could pressure returns and free cash flow.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose 2.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $266.40 and last traded at $265.84. 35,251,735 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 49,368,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.45.

More Amazon.com News

Here are the key news stories impacting Amazon.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Prime Air expansion provides a growth catalyst. Amazon plans to expand drone delivery from 11 locations to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026. Packages weighing up to five pounds could arrive in as little as 30 minutes, strengthening Amazon’s delivery advantage as it competes with Walmart, FedEx, Wing and Zipline. Amazon to expand drone service to nearly 500 cities
• Positive Sentiment: AWS growth is reaccelerating on AI demand. AWS revenue reportedly grew 37% year over year to $42.2 billion, its fastest pace in more than four years. Amazon’s AWS AI business surpassed a $25 billion annualized revenue run rate, with triple-digit growth, supporting the bullish case that cloud investments are beginning to generate substantial returns. Amazon's AI Business Passed a $25 Billion Run Rate
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon is extending its infrastructure lead. The company increased its planned northwest Louisiana data-center investment by 50% to approximately $18 billion, including funding for power, transmission and water infrastructure. The move signals confidence in sustained AWS demand and helps secure scarce electricity capacity for future AI workloads. Amazon Plugs $18B Into the Southern Power Grid
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst expectations remain favorable. The average Wall Street price target implies roughly 25.6% potential upside, while positive earnings-estimate revisions reflect optimism about AWS growth, AI monetization and retail momentum. Wall Street Analysts Think Amazon Could Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Tariff refunds may boost profitability, but customer benefits are unclear. Amazon is among the companies expected to benefit most from refunds following the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling. However, it has not committed to passing the savings on to shoppers, leaving the impact on demand and public perception uncertain. Fortune 500 companies got billions in tariff refunds
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy AI spending and competition remain risks. The Louisiana project and broader data-center buildout could pressure free cash flow and margins through higher depreciation, while Microsoft, Google, Nvidia-backed providers and specialized rivals may limit AWS returns on investment. Amazon Sees Bigger AWS Growth, but Rising Competition Could Pressure Returns

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on AMZN. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Amazon.com from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, June 18th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Amazon.com from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $322.56.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $238.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.87 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.87.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $3.93. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 17.44%.The company had revenue of $200.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.68 EPS. Amazon.com's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amazon.com news, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 2,363 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.38, for a total transaction of $620,003.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 119,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $31,427,876.40. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 9,270 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.53, for a total transaction of $2,489,273.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,060,750.70. This trade represents a 18.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 62,650 shares of company stock valued at $16,535,457. Insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amazon.com

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Amazon.com in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,868,735,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 27,376.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 98,448,885 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $2,272,397,000 after purchasing an additional 98,090,585 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Amazon.com in the second quarter worth approximately $22,218,775,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in Amazon.com by 20,598.0% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 87,982,814 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $20,308,193,000 after acquiring an additional 87,557,736 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the second quarter worth approximately $16,341,405,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Amazon.com Company Profile

Amazon.com, Inc is a diversified technology and retail company best known for its e-commerce marketplace and broad portfolio of consumer and enterprise services. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company launched as an online bookseller and expanded into a global retail platform that sells products directly to consumers and provides a marketplace for third-party sellers. Over time Amazon has grown beyond retail into areas including cloud computing, digital media, devices and logistics.

Key businesses and offerings include Amazon’s online marketplace and fulfillment services, the Amazon Prime membership program (which bundles expedited shipping with streaming and other benefits), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which supplies on-demand cloud computing and storage to businesses and public-sector customers, and a range of content and advertising services such as Prime Video and Amazon Advertising.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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