Academy Capital Management Buys New Stake in Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• Academy Capital Management acquired 246,188 Amazon shares worth approximately $58.7 million, making AMZN its fourth-largest holding at 7.8% of the portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 72.2% of Amazon’s stock.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish: 56 analysts rate Amazon a Buy and three rate it a Hold, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $321.19.
• Amazon reported quarterly revenue of $200.61 billion, up 19.6% year over year, and earnings of $5.75 per share, well above estimates. However, investors continue to monitor heavy planned capital spending, potential negative free cash flow, regulatory scrutiny and recent insider stock sales.

Academy Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 246,188 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock, valued at approximately $58,676,000. Amazon.com comprises approximately 7.8% of Academy Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMZN. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 2.3% in the first quarter. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $346,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Amazon.com by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,509 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sfam LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Sfam LLC now owns 1,224 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.1% during the first quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on AMZN. HSBC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Amazon.com from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and issued a $333.00 target price (up from $320.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fifty-six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $321.19.

Amazon.com News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon agreed to purchase up to $8 billion of backup generators from Generac, including approximately $2.4 billion of deliveries in 2027–2028. The deal should help Amazon bring AWS data centers online despite grid-connection delays and power shortages, while Amazon receives warrants to purchase Generac shares. Generac Plugs into Amazon for an $8B AI-Powered Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to point to accelerating AWS demand, with reports citing a $169 billion annualized revenue run rate and a large cloud backlog. That supports expectations that AI-related infrastructure spending can translate into future sales, despite near-term cash-flow pressure. Amazon’s Andy Jassy Just Made a Startling Prediction
• Positive Sentiment: Project Mercury aims to expand Amazon’s same-day delivery network to more than 1,000 hubs by 2031. Bank of America called the initiative strategically important as Amazon attempts to narrow Walmart’s proximity and convenience advantage. Amazon’s secret weapon against Walmart could be a massive blitz in same-day delivery
• Positive Sentiment: AWS made its AI-powered hiring product, Amazon Connect Talent, generally available, expanding Amazon’s enterprise AI offerings beyond cloud infrastructure. Amazon has also received favorable attention from UBS analysts among top technology stock picks.
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon is promoting industry and government cooperation on AI safety standards, emphasizing testing before release without calling for a broader slowdown in development. The stance may improve trust but is unlikely to materially change near-term results. Amazon Urges Industry and Government Partnership on AI Safeguards
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon faces European Commission scrutiny over marketplace rules that may restrict sellers from offering lower prices elsewhere, creating potential regulatory and compliance costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that roughly $220 billion of planned 2026 capital expenditures could keep free cash flow negative. Higher wages, delivery costs and possible electricity-grid charges for data centers add to the spending burden.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. senators have urged the FTC to investigate Amazon’s AI shopping tools over alleged suppression of U.S.-made products and misleading “Made in USA” labels. The company also continues to face reputational and legal attention related to its Prime settlement.

Amazon.com Stock Up 1.0%

AMZN opened at $253.71 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $256.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.60. The company has a market cap of $2.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.44. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.00 and a 1 year high of $287.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.68 earnings per share. Amazon.com's revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Douglas Herrington sold 6,362 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.01, for a total transaction of $1,647,821.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $123,465,145.81. This represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 14,541 shares of the firm'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 transaction, 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 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,589 shares of company stock worth $18,568,785. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Amazon.com Company Profile

Amazon.com, Inc is a global technology and e-commerce company that operates online marketplaces and provides a broad range of consumer products and services. Its retail business sells merchandise directly to customers and enables third-party sellers to offer products through Amazon's websites and applications. The company also operates physical stores and provides services such as digital content, subscriptions, and consumer devices, including Kindle and Echo products.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides cloud computing, storage, database, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technology services to businesses, governments, and organizations.

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