8,653 Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN Shares Purchased by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Securities increased its Amazon stake by 13.4% in the third quarter, buying 8,653 shares to reach 73,082 shares valued at about $18.2 million.
• Amazon’s latest quarter slightly missed analyst expectations, reporting EPS of $1.89 versus $1.97 expected and revenue of $201.94 billion versus $202.22 billion; revenue still grew 12.1% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive: Amazon has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $321.74.

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC raised its stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,082 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after buying an additional 8,653 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com accounts for about 1.9% of Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest position. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in Amazon.com were worth $18,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Amazon.com Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $266.66 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $254.82 and a 200-day moving average of $244.32. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.00 and a 52 week high of $287.20. The company has a market capitalization of $2.88 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.74, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMZN has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $348.00 price objective (up from $318.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Monday, October 26th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "conviction-buy" rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Yorkville Ives assumed coverage on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Monday, October 19th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $300.00 target price on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Amazon.com from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-five have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $321.74.

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In other news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,000 shares of the business's 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 directly owned 2,235,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $579,085,751.66. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 6,362 shares of the business's 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 $1,647,821.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,681 shares in the company, valued at $123,465,145.81. The trade was a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,545,595. 8.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Key Amazon.com News

Investors following AMZN have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon’s planned World Product Graph would catalog products available across the internet, including items Amazon doesn’t stock. If it makes Amazon a starting point for more shopping searches, it could strengthen product discovery and attract advertising revenue. Reuters article
• Neutral Sentiment: A planned launch of 40 Amazon Leo satellites could advance its satellite-internet service, although the launch itself does not establish the service’s eventual commercial returns. TipRanks article
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon’s European unit and managers could face a criminal trial in Italy over alleged unpaid import VAT and customs duties on third-party cross-border sales. A trial could bring legal costs, penalties, or reputational risk; the allegations have not been resolved. Yahoo Finance article

Amazon.com Profile

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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