Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley lowered Amazon’s price target from $350 to $335 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying about 40% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Amazon has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $321.35, with several firms assigning targets above $330.
• Amazon shares fell 2% to $238.83 after the company missed quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, while investors remain concerned about heavy AI-related capital spending and weakening free cash flow.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by Morgan Stanley from $350.00 to $335.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the e-commerce giant's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 40.27% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Pivotal Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $333.00 price target (up from $320.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "conviction-buy" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday. Yorkville Ives started coverage on Amazon.com in a report on Monday, October 19th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $300.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price target on Amazon.com from $310.00 to $298.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $321.35.

Amazon.com Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of AMZN stock traded down $4.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $238.83. The company had a trading volume of 70,448,509 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,188,230. The company's fifty day moving average is $254.67 and its 200 day moving average is $243.12. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $196.00 and a fifty-two week high of $287.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 trillion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.45.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.89 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by ($0.08). Amazon.com had a net margin of 17.44% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The firm had revenue of $201.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.95 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Amazon.com will post 8.00 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Matthew Garman sold 14,541 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.06, for a total transaction of $3,766,991.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 17,794 shares in the company, valued at $4,609,713.64. This trade represents a 44.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 1,000 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.50, for a total transaction of $251,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 474,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $119,382,271.50. This trade represents a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold a total of 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,580,515 over the last three months. 8.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amazon.com

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in AMZN. TOP Private Wealth LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com in the second quarter worth $29,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the second quarter worth $33,000. Atomic Invest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 41.2% during the second quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 168 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter valued at $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.20% of the company's stock.

More Amazon.com News

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

• Positive Sentiment: AWS growth accelerated sharply. Amazon Web Services revenue increased 39% to approximately $46 billion, its fastest growth in nearly five years. Management expects AWS growth to exceed 40% in 2027 and 2028, supported by rising AI demand and improving cloud economics. Amazon Q3 Revenues Miss Estimates, AWS Growth Hits Near 5-Year High
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly bullish. Canaccord Genuity, RBC, JPMorgan, Guggenheim and other firms maintained positive ratings, with price targets generally ranging from $275 to $335. Analysts point to AWS, AI services, Prime Video profitability and Amazon’s long-term infrastructure position as potential sources of upside. Analyst Reaffirms Buy on Amazon
• Positive Sentiment: New growth opportunities could expand Amazon’s AI ecosystem. Amazon plans to sell its Trainium AI chips to outside customers by late 2027, while its Leo satellite-internet service is expected to begin an initial rollout this year. Amazon Has Bigger Plans for AI Chips
• Neutral Sentiment: Generative AI is sending more shoppers to competing search and shopping tools, but research indicates Amazon still captures a majority of AI-assisted purchases, suggesting potential disruption to customer discovery without an immediate loss of transactions. Amazon Wins 59% of AI-Assisted Purchases
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon missed quarterly expectations. Earnings per share came in at $1.89 versus roughly $1.97–$2.01 expected, while revenue of $201.94 billion was slightly below consensus. Fourth-quarter sales guidance was also viewed as light, raising concerns about holiday demand and softer retail growth. Amazon Projects Fourth-Quarter Sales Below Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: The main investor concern is the scale and timing of AI spending. Amazon spent approximately $77.3 billion on property and equipment in the quarter, is maintaining a roughly $220 billion 2026 capital-expenditure plan, and reported a $42.4 billion trailing-12-month free-cash-flow loss. Rising debt and expectations for even higher 2027 spending have intensified worries that AI returns may take years to materialize. Amazon's Record Margins Couldn't Stop the Sell-Off

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc is a global technology and e-commerce company founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994. Originally launched as an online bookstore, the company has expanded into a broad digital marketplace offering consumer products across numerous categories, including electronics, household goods, apparel, groceries and other merchandise. Amazon also sells products under its own brands and provides logistics, fulfillment and delivery services that support its retail operations and third-party sellers.

The company's principal businesses include online and physical retail, Amazon Web Services (AWS), digital advertising, subscription services and consumer technology.

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