Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN Stock: Wedmont Private Capital Grows Position

Key Points

• Wedmont Private Capital increased its Amazon stake by 26.1% in the third quarter, bringing its holdings to 220,898 shares valued at approximately $54.6 million. Institutional investors collectively own 72.2% of Amazon’s stock.
• Amazon insiders sold 71,589 shares worth about $18.6 million over the past three months, including sales by the CFO and CEO under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plans.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with 56 Buy ratings, three Holds, and a consensus price target of $322.53 versus the stock’s recent price of $250.00. Investors are watching the upcoming October 29 earnings report for updates on AWS growth, capital spending, margins, and AI investments.

Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 220,898 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after purchasing an additional 45,674 shares during the period. Amazon.com accounts for 1.3% of Wedmont Private Capital's portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Wedmont Private Capital's holdings in Amazon.com were worth $54,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 10.5% in the third quarter. Intelligence Driven Advisers LLC now owns 10,148 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $2,528,000 after buying an additional 965 shares during the last quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Athena Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,131 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $3,521,000 after acquiring an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Gouws Capital LLC boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Gouws Capital LLC now owns 43,676 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $10,882,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. BOS Asset Management LLC now owns 7,202 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $1,794,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA grew its holdings in Amazon.com by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA now owns 4,561 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Amazon.com news, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 6,172 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.31, for a total value of $1,606,633.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 109,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,427,674.17. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 6,362 shares of Amazon.com 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 $1,647,821.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,465,145.81. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 71,589 shares of company stock worth $18,580,515 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AMZN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $325.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $335.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $329.00 price target on Amazon.com and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. Pivotal Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $333.00 price objective (up from $320.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, HSBC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. Fifty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $322.53.

Trending Headlines about Amazon.com

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

• Positive Sentiment: AWS remains the central growth and profit driver. Amazon’s cloud business grew at its fastest pace in 18 quarters during the second quarter, and investors will focus closely on whether that momentum continued. Strong AWS growth could support a higher valuation. Amazon earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts continue to view Amazon as a major beneficiary of AI adoption through AWS, custom chips and related products. The company’s AI initiatives could improve future cash flow, while strong holiday e-commerce demand and a growing advertising business provide additional support. Amazon AI cash flow outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon’s acquisition of Bee is expanding its consumer AI strategy. New Bee Frontier and Bee Eclipse devices, along with a paid software tier, give the company new opportunities in hardware, subscriptions and AI-assisted shopping. Amazon Bee AI devices
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon has scheduled its third-quarter results and conference call for Oct. 29. The report is likely to be the next major catalyst, particularly for AWS growth, capital expenditures, operating margins and management’s AI investment outlook. Amazon earnings announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Broad technology stocks are under pressure as inflation concerns increase expectations for higher interest rates, prompting investors to favor value and dividend-paying sectors. That market-wide rotation is weighing on mega-cap technology names, including AMZN. Technology sector decline
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that Amazon’s roughly $220 billion AI commitment and rising capital expenditures may pressure near-term free cash flow. Capacity constraints and potentially falling AI-compute pricing add to doubts about the return on that spending.
• Negative Sentiment: Elon Musk’s proposal for an “X Shop” or “Grokazon” introduces a potential long-term competitive risk after Amazon blocked some AI shopping agents. The issue could encourage rivals to challenge Amazon’s position in agent-driven commerce. Potential Amazon rival

Amazon.com Stock Performance

AMZN traded down $4.76 during trading on Friday, reaching $250.00. 40,277,007 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 36,398,520. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $256.75 and a 200 day moving average of $251.57. 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, Inc. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 17.44%. The company had revenue of $200.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.68 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amazon.com Profile

Amazon.com, Inc is a global technology and commerce company that operates online marketplaces, physical stores, and a broad portfolio of digital and cloud-based services. The company offers consumer products across categories such as electronics, household goods, apparel, groceries, and entertainment, while also providing third-party sellers with tools for listing, selling, and fulfilling orders.

Amazon's major businesses include Amazon Web Services (AWS), which provides cloud computing, storage, database, analytics, and artificial intelligence services; Prime, a membership program that includes shipping, streaming, and other benefits; and digital entertainment services such as Prime Video, Amazon Music, Kindle, and Audible.

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