Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN Stock Holdings Lifted by Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.

Key Points

• Meridian Investment Counsel increased its Amazon stake by 50.9% in the third quarter to 8,744 shares valued at approximately $2.18 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 72.2% of Amazon’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish: 57 analysts rate Amazon a Buy and three rate it a Hold, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $322.53.
• Amazon’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with revenue rising 19.6% year over year to $200.61 billion and EPS reaching $5.75 versus the $1.82 consensus estimate. However, the stock was trading down 4.6%, while investors weigh heavy AI infrastructure spending, power constraints and potential returns on capital.

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 50.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,744 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after acquiring an additional 2,948 shares during the period. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $2,179,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMZN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on Amazon.com from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Amazon.com from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $335.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $320.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Fifty-seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amazon.com has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $322.53.

Key Headlines Impacting Amazon.com

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong AWS and AI growth remain the central bull case. AWS is reportedly expanding at its fastest pace in 18 quarters, while Amazon’s custom Trainium chips are being made available to PyTorch developers. Analysts see cloud growth, advertising, operating leverage and AI infrastructure as potential drivers of substantial long-term upside. Amazon AI growth and upside analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional and analyst support provided a counterpoint. Morgan Stanley named Amazon a top pick and raised its price target, while Citadel increased its Amazon position. Jefferies also said warehouse automation and Amazon’s logistics network could improve retail margins over time. Citadel Amazon stake and AI bubble article
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon continues to expand strategic growth opportunities. The company is involved in a proposed 960-megawatt nuclear project in Indiana, and data indicate it is gaining fresh-grocery market share from traditional supermarkets. Amazon nuclear energy project
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter results are the immediate focus. Wall Street expects earnings growth, but investors are watching AWS growth, operating margins, free cash flow and management’s outlook for capital expenditures. The company’s recent spending plans reportedly approach $200 billion to $220 billion, making the earnings call particularly important. Amazon earnings preview
• Negative Sentiment: AI investment is raising return-on-capital concerns. Reports say some Nvidia-powered server racks purchased by Amazon are sitting idle because data centers lack sufficient electricity, while Amazon has also abandoned a planned Virginia data-center campus. Such developments could delay monetization of its massive infrastructure spending. Amazon Nvidia chips and data-center power report
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive, regulatory and labor risks remain overhangs. Debate over whether AI is in a bubble, Walmart’s more open approach to AI-agent commerce, a proposed bill targeting subsidies for large AI data centers, and renewed Teamsters pressure on delivery rules could increase uncertainty or costs. Amazon and Walmart AI-agent commerce article

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Andrew Jassy sold 20,000 shares of the company'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 transaction of $5,180,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,235,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,085,751.66. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.06, for a total transaction of $3,766,991.46. Following the completion of the sale, 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 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 sold 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,580,515. 8.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amazon.com Trading Down 4.6%

NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $250.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.70 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.45. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $255.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.33. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.00 and a 12-month high of $287.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 17.44%. The firm had revenue of $200.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. Amazon.com's revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amazon.com 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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