Empirical Finance LLC Acquires 5,101 Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• Empirical Finance increased its Amazon stake by 1.4% in the second quarter, buying 5,101 shares to hold 382,114 shares valued at approximately $89.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 72.2% of Amazon.
• Amazon reported quarterly revenue of $200.61 billion, up 19.6% year over year, and earnings of $5.75 per share, substantially exceeding analyst expectations. Analysts remain broadly bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $322.86.
• Amazon’s AI and data-center investments, including potential Nvidia-chip financing, could expand AWS capacity but may pressure free cash flow and carry execution risks. Recent insider sales were conducted under pre-arranged trading plans and represented relatively small reductions in ownership.

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 382,114 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after buying an additional 5,101 shares during the period. Amazon.com makes up about 3.7% of Empirical Finance LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Empirical Finance LLC's holdings in Amazon.com were worth $89,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Amazon.com by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Sfam LLC grew its position in Amazon.com by 3.4% in 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 last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. increased its holdings 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 increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.1% during the 1st 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 period. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Amazon.com News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days launched with discounts on electronics and other products, providing a near-term test of consumer demand and a potential boost to fourth-quarter retail revenue. Amazon Prime Big Deal Days
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reaffirmed a Buy rating and set a $350 price target. Other coverage highlighted AMZN’s valuation near 20 times earnings as historically low for the company, supporting the view that AI and AWS growth may not be fully reflected in the stock. TD Cowen Amazon Rating
• Positive Sentiment: Prime Video secured a six-year agreement to stream the Emmy Awards beginning in 2027. The deal strengthens Amazon’s streaming content portfolio and could support Prime engagement, although its direct financial impact is likely modest. Amazon Emmy Awards Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon is reportedly exploring an $8 billion Nvidia-chip financing structure, while continuing investments in custom chips, nuclear power and data centers. These moves could improve capital flexibility and expand AWS’s AI capacity as demand remains strong. Amazon Nvidia Chip Financing
• Neutral Sentiment: A senior Amazon finance executive, James Dibbo, is leaving to become Pinterest’s CFO. The departure may be viewed as a modest talent loss, but he represented only one executive within Amazon’s broad finance organization. Pinterest Hires Amazon Executive
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that roughly $200 billion in annual AI and data-center spending could pressure free cash flow before new capacity generates revenue. Power constraints, community opposition and uncertain returns increase execution risk. Amazon Data Center Spending Risks
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Douglas Herrington sold 1,000 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction reduced his holdings by only 0.21% and is unlikely to materially affect the investment case, but may create minor headline pressure. SEC Insider Sale Filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMZN shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wedbush boosted their price target on Amazon.com from $293.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $365.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Fifty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.86.

Amazon.com Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of AMZN stock opened at $256.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.76 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.45. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.00 and a 12-month high of $287.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $257.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $249.09.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other Amazon.com news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.50, for a total value of $251,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 474,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $119,382,271.50. The trade was a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,235,766 shares in the company, valued at $579,085,751.66. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 71,589 shares of company stock worth $18,580,515 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

About Amazon.com

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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