Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Buys New Position in Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• Bridgewater Advisors initiated a $21.7 million Amazon position by purchasing 76,356 shares in the second quarter, making Amazon its 13th-largest holding. Institutional investors collectively own 72.2% of Amazon’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Amazon receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and a $323.26 average price target; several firms recently raised their targets as high as $400.
• Amazon reported strong quarterly results, including $200.61 billion in revenue and $5.75 in earnings per share, while investors are also weighing AWS’s AI expansion and risks from a fatal cargo-plane crash and an employee discrimination lawsuit.

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 76,356 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock, valued at approximately $21,687,000. Amazon.com comprises 1.2% of Bridgewater Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SFE Investment Counsel purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the second quarter valued at approximately $19,383,000. Alesco Advisors LLC An ESL Co purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the 2nd quarter valued at $5,100,000. Bank Hapoalim BM purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the 2nd quarter valued at $20,761,000. BIP Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth $12,854,000. Finally, Phillips Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth $2,450,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Amazon.com News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AWS expands its custom-chip strategy. Amazon and Qualcomm announced a multi-generation collaboration to develop customized AI data-center silicon, initially focused on AWS inference, along with optical-connectivity solutions of up to 1.6T. The agreement diversifies Amazon’s supply chain beyond Nvidia, Broadcom and its internally developed Trainium chips, while supporting AWS’s long-term AI infrastructure buildout. Qualcomm Announces Multi-Generational Product Collaboration with Amazon
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remains a key investment argument. Commentary highlighted AWS’s roughly 39% operating margin and recent acceleration in cloud growth as reasons investors may view Amazon’s valuation as attractive, particularly with the stock trading near its 50-day moving average and below its recent high. Amazon’s AWS Operating Margin
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon is preparing a sterling bond offering. The company has hired banks for its first sterling-denominated bond sale, apparently seeking additional funding sources for major AI and infrastructure investments. The move may improve financing flexibility, but it also underscores the scale of Amazon’s capital requirements. Amazon Hires Banks for First Sterling Bond Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Fatal Prime Air crash increases operational and reputational risk. Federal investigators are examining why a contractor-operated Boeing 767 cargo jet overshot the Miami runway by about 1,300 feet, killing five people. The investigation could bring additional scrutiny to Amazon Air’s contractor oversight, logistics practices and potential liability. Investigators Probe Amazon Cargo Plane Crash
• Negative Sentiment: Employment lawsuit adds legal and regulatory uncertainty. Four former warehouse workers allege Amazon discriminated against pregnant employees by penalizing medically necessary breaks and absences. The class-action complaint could create litigation costs and renewed scrutiny of warehouse labor policies. Amazon Sued for Allegedly Discriminating Against Pregnant Workers

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on AMZN shares. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Amazon.com from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Benchmark increased their price objective on Amazon.com from $370.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $360.00 target price (up from $355.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-six have issued a Buy rating and two 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 a consensus price target of $323.26.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In related news, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 2,343 shares of the company'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 $606,860.43. Following the sale, the vice president owned 119,780 shares in the company, valued at $31,024,217.80. This represents a 1.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Andrew Jassy sold 20,000 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction 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 approximately $579,085,751.66. This represents a 0.89% 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 90 days, insiders sold 71,589 shares of company stock worth $18,568,785. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Amazon.com Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $256.97 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $254.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $243.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.44. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.00 and a 1 year high of $287.20.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.68 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Amazon.com

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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