Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Downgraded by Zacks Research to "Hold"

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Amazon.com from “Strong Buy” to “Hold.” Despite the downgrade, Wall Street sentiment remains positive, with 56 Buy ratings, three Hold ratings, no Sell ratings, and a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating.
• Amazon reported quarterly EPS of $5.75, far exceeding the $1.82 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 19.6% year over year to $200.61 billion. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $8.05.
• Amazon insiders sold 71,589 shares worth about $18.6 million over the past three months, while institutional investors continue to hold a substantial 72.2% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "market outperform" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, August 14th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Amazon.com from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Amazon.com from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $365.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Fifty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $323.26.

Amazon.com Price Performance

Shares of AMZN opened at $248.42 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.68 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.03. Amazon.com has a fifty-two week low of $196.00 and a fifty-two week high of $287.20. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $255.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.98.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $3.93. Amazon.com had a net margin of 17.44% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The firm had revenue of $200.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Amazon.com will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amazon.com news, CEO Douglas Herrington sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.77, for a total value of $254,770.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 475,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $121,189,248.37. The trade was a 0.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 2,343 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.01, for a total value of $606,860.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 119,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $31,024,217.80. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 71,589 shares of company stock worth $18,568,785 in the last three months. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,376,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in Amazon.com by 7.5% during the first quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 73,085 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $15,221,000 after purchasing an additional 5,125 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.7% during the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 303,862 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $63,285,000 after purchasing an additional 5,104 shares during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in Amazon.com in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,261,000. Finally, Narwhal Capital Management increased its stake in Amazon.com by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 216,606 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $49,997,000 after purchasing an additional 4,854 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Amazon.com

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

• Positive Sentiment: Large AI infrastructure commitments support AWS growth. Amazon reportedly could purchase up to $60 billion of Qualcomm AI chips, while its partnership with Wiwynn will expand U.S. server manufacturing capacity and create nearly 1,000 jobs. These developments reinforce Amazon’s long-term investment in cloud and artificial-intelligence infrastructure. Amazon Could Buy Up to $60 Billion From Qualcomm
• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic stake and operating outlook remain potential value drivers. Reports that Anthropic expects a second consecutive quarter of adjusted operating profit—and could pursue a valuation of as much as $2 trillion—highlight the potential value of Amazon’s roughly $13 billion investment in the AI developer. Anthropic Expects a Second Straight Quarter of Adjusted Operating Profit
• Positive Sentiment: Retail and advertising initiatives offer additional support. Amazon India’s rapid-delivery service reportedly surpassed $1 billion in annualized sales, and the company scheduled Prime Big Deal Days for October 6–7. Amazon also expanded its advertising reach through a pilot with ChatGPT. Amazon India’s Amazon Now Tops $1 Billion
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly optimistic. Coverage indicates Amazon has no sell ratings and continued confidence in earnings, cash flow and AWS growth, although bullish ratings have not prevented near-term volatility. Is It Worth Investing in Amazon Based on Wall Street’s Bullish Views?
• Negative Sentiment: AWS cannot restore access to damaged facilities in Bahrain and the UAE. The prolonged loss of access to customer data and cloud availability zones raises concerns about service resilience, customer retention, potential costs and reputational damage. This was the most direct company-specific pressure on AMZN. AWS Unable to Restore Access After War Damage
• Negative Sentiment: Macro and competitive pressures weighed on technology stocks. Investors prepared for a Federal Reserve rate decision amid higher yields and oil prices, while commentary suggested AWS cloud growth is lagging Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud in AI. Amazon also paused operations with 21 Air after a fatal cargo-plane crash, adding logistics and reputational risk. Amazon Stock Slides: What’s Happening?

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc is a global technology and e-commerce company that operates online marketplaces and provides a broad range of consumer products and services. Its retail business sells merchandise directly to customers and enables third-party sellers to offer products through Amazon's websites and applications. The company also operates physical stores and provides services such as digital content, subscriptions, and consumer devices, including Kindle and Echo products.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides cloud computing, storage, database, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technology services to businesses, governments, and organizations.

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