Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Sell-Side Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a bullish outlook: Amazon has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 60 analysts, including 57 buy ratings, with an average 12-month price target of $322.53.
• Strong quarterly performance: Amazon reported earnings of $5.75 per share versus the $1.82 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 19.6% year over year to $200.61 billion.
• AI expansion brings both opportunity and risk: AWS initiatives, including easier adoption of Trainium chips and planned nuclear-powered data-center capacity, could support growth, but heavy capital spending, negative free cash flow and rising debt remain concerns.

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the sixty ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifty-seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $322.53.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on AMZN. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on Amazon.com and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on Amazon.com from $320.00 to $310.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $350.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Monday, October 5th.

Amazon.com Trading Up 5.0%

Amazon.com stock opened at $262.45 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $256.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.83 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.45. Amazon.com has a 52-week low of $196.00 and a 52-week high of $287.20.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $197.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. Amazon.com's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Amazon.com will post 8.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Matthew Garman sold 14,541 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.06, for a total value of $3,766,991.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 17,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,609,713.64. This represents a 44.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 6,172 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.31, for a total transaction of $1,606,633.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 109,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,427,674.17. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,580,515. 8.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Verisail Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Amazon.com in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $246,000. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Amazon.com by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,086 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $4,379,000 after purchasing an additional 2,255 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC increased its stake in Amazon.com by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 10,364 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $2,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE raised its holdings in Amazon.com by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE now owns 67,109 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $16,720,000 after buying an additional 2,881 shares during the period. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Amazon.com by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Secure Asset Management LLC now owns 38,351 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $9,555,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Key Amazon.com News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley names Amazon a top pick: The firm raised its price target to $350 from $335 and maintained an Overweight rating, citing an “under-appreciated” AWS growth runway. Morgan Stanley now expects AWS growth of approximately 47% in 2027, alongside potential gains from Bedrock, agentic AI, advertising, robotics and automated fulfillment. Amazon stock pops after Morgan Stanley details five catalysts
• Positive Sentiment: AWS makes Trainium easier to adopt: Amazon introduced TorchNeuron, a tool designed to let developers run existing PyTorch applications on its Trainium chips with minimal code changes. The software could reduce Nvidia’s CUDA-related ecosystem advantage, improve Trainium adoption and lower customer AI-computing costs. Amazon is taking its biggest shot at Nvidia with TorchNeuron
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term power strategy supports AI expansion: Amazon agreed to fund development of a proposed 960-megawatt Indiana nuclear plant and intends to purchase its electricity. The project could provide reliable power for expanding data-center capacity, although it remains subject to feasibility work and approvals. Amazon to fund 12 small nuclear reactors in Indiana
• Neutral Sentiment: Data-center supply chain activity: 3M expanded its commercial relationship with Amazon for data-center products, reportedly involving a multibillion-dollar opportunity. The agreement highlights continued infrastructure spending but does not appear to materially change Amazon’s near-term earnings outlook. 3M expands Amazon data center partnership
• Negative Sentiment: Capital intensity remains a risk: Commentary noted Amazon’s planned roughly $220 billion in annual capital expenditures, negative free cash flow and higher long-term debt. Investors will need evidence that AI spending translates into durable AWS revenue and margin expansion. Amazon’s AI data-center spending challenges

Amazon.com Company Profile

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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