17,728 Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN Shares Purchased by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Verdence Capital Advisors increased its Amazon stake by 16.5%, buying 17,728 shares in the third quarter and bringing its holding to 125,073 shares, valued at about $31.2 million.
• Amazon’s latest quarterly results fell slightly short of forecasts: earnings were $1.89 per share versus a $1.97 estimate, and revenue was $201.94 billion versus $202.22 billion expected. Revenue still grew 12.1% year over year.
• Wall Street’s consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $321.74. The article also notes legal uncertainties, including an Italian tax investigation and a U.S. class action over alleged biometric-data collection.

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 125,073 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after purchasing an additional 17,728 shares during the period. Amazon.com accounts for about 1.3% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Amazon.com were worth $31,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMZN. TOP Private Wealth LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Atomic Invest LLC boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 41.2% in the second quarter. Atomic Invest LLC now owns 168 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Amazon.com in the second quarter valued at $68,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Amazon.com

Investors following AMZN have been watching these headlines:

• Positive Sentiment: Coverage pointed to the estimated value of Amazon’s Anthropic investment and ongoing AI demand as potential supports. A reported leadership shake-up at Nvidia may also encourage cloud providers to diversify chip suppliers, potentially benefiting Amazon’s in-house silicon efforts. What Is Going on with Amazon Stock on Thursday? NVIDIA’s Crisis Opens the Board
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon plans to hire 300,000 seasonal workers for the holidays, a sign of preparations for peak shopping demand. Investors are also watching a planned Amazon Leo rocket launch as a step toward expanding its satellite-internet service. What Is Going on with Amazon Stock on Thursday? Amazon Stock Rises Ahead of a Leo Rocket Launch
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon also faces legal overhangs: Italian prosecutors are pursuing an investigation into alleged unpaid import VAT and customs duties, and a U.S. court certified a class action alleging biometric-data violations involving Amazon Photos. Outcomes and potential financial exposure remain uncertain. Amazon Could Face Trial in Italy Over Unpaid Import VAT Class action over alleged Amazon Photos biometric-data collection

Insider Activity

In other Amazon.com news, CEO Matthew Garman sold 14,541 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.06, for a total value of $3,766,991.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 17,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,609,713.64. This trade represents a 44.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed 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 business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.01, for a total value of $5,180,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,235,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,085,751.66. The trade was a 0.89% 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. Insiders sold 71,589 shares of company stock worth $18,545,595 over the last quarter. 8.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Amazon.com Trading Up 0.5%

NASDAQ AMZN opened at $267.44 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $254.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.21. Amazon.com, Inc. has a one year low of $196.00 and a one year high of $287.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.49.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.97 by ($0.08). Amazon.com had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 16.90%. The business had revenue of $201.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.95 EPS. Amazon.com's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.80 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AMZN has been the topic of several research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, October 30th. Yorkville Ives initiated 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. Phillip Securities raised Amazon.com from a "moderate buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-five have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $321.74.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. is a technology and e-commerce company founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore. It has since grown into a global business serving consumers, sellers, developers, enterprises and content creators. Amazon operates online stores and marketplaces, where it sells products directly and enables third-party sellers to reach customers. Its other businesses include Amazon Web Services, which provides cloud computing and related services; digital advertising; Prime memberships; and entertainment offerings such as streaming video and music.

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