Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Trading Down 4.6% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Amazon shares fell 4.6% in midday trading, dropping to as low as $232.05 after closing at $244.85 the prior day, on volume slightly below average.
• Despite the dip, analysts remain broadly optimistic ahead of Amazon’s July 30 earnings report, citing potential AWS strength and continued support for a “Moderate Buy” consensus with a $312.91 target price.
• The biggest near-term overhang is a Senate investigation into alleged Chinese influence on Amazon’s marketplace, which the article suggests may be weighing on the stock more than the company’s positive business developments.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s stock price fell 4.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $232.05 and last traded at $233.66. Approximately 47,105,172 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average daily volume of 49,421,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $244.85.

More Amazon.com News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish heading into Amazon’s July 30 earnings, with multiple reports saying AWS growth could exceed expectations and support another beat. Amazon's Bezos pushes Prime Video redesign focused on AI
• Positive Sentiment: India relaxed e-commerce export rules, a policy win for Amazon that could improve its ability to buy from local sellers and sell overseas. India relaxes e-commerce investment rules for exports in win for Amazon
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon is integrating Luna cloud gaming into Prime Video and pushing AI deeper into its streaming ecosystem, reinforcing the long-term optionality of its Prime bundle and AI strategy. Amazon is bringing games to Prime Video
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon cut jobs in its AGI unit, but management framed it as a reorganization to concentrate resources on higher-priority customer-facing AI projects rather than a retreat from AI. Amazon cuts some jobs in its artificial general intelligence unit
• Negative Sentiment: The Senate investigation into alleged Chinese influence on Amazon’s marketplace is the most immediate overhang and is likely contributing to the stock’s weakness today. India relaxes e-commerce investment rules for exports in win for Amazon

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMZN shares. Benchmark increased their target price on Amazon.com from $275.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Moffett Nathanson increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $283.00 to $288.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $298.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Fifty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $312.91.

Amazon.com Trading Down 4.6%

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $249.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $236.30. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 trillion, a P/E ratio of 27.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $1.15. The company had revenue of $181.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.28 billion. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 12.22%.Amazon.com's revenue was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.77, for a total transaction of $239,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 484,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $116,175,038.79. This represents a 0.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.42, for a total transaction of $5,268,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,205,766 shares in the company, valued at $581,042,879.72. This trade represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 144,274 shares of company stock valued at $38,716,204. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMZN. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Amazon.com by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,509 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,147,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Sfam LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Sfam LLC now owns 1,224 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% during the first quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 1.1% during the first quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.