Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Price

Key Points

• Wells Fargo lowered Amazon’s price target to $326 from $329 but maintained an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 37% upside from the current price.
• Amazon shares fell 2.5% to $237.69, while the company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations: EPS was $1.89 versus $1.97 expected, and revenue was slightly below consensus.
• Despite the earnings miss, analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $321.30; AWS growth and AI-related opportunities are key potential catalysts, while elevated capital spending remains a concern.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $329.00 to $326.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "overweight" rating on the e-commerce giant's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential upside of 37.16% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AMZN. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $320.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Tigress Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $385.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Benchmark upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Telsey Advisory Group set a $335.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-six have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $321.30.

Amazon.com Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of AMZN traded down $6.11 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $237.69. 74,243,687 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 46,209,895. The company's fifty day moving average price is $254.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $243.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.45. Amazon.com has a 12 month low of $196.00 and a 12 month high of $287.20.

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

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Andrew Jassy sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.01, for a total value of $5,180,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,235,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $579,085,751.66. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 9,258 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.77, for a total value of $2,404,950.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,699,926.30. This trade represents a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,580,515 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the second quarter worth about $22,218,775,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Amazon.com in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,341,405,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $12,831,376,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,631,466,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,910,083,000. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Amazon.com

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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