Generation Investment Management LLP Makes New Investment in Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• Generation Investment Management LLP bought 5.19 million Amazon shares worth approximately $1.24 billion in the second quarter, making AMZN its second-largest holding at 12% of the portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 72.2% of Amazon’s stock.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with Amazon carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $323.26; several firms recently raised targets to between $330 and $350.
• Amazon reported quarterly earnings of $5.75 per share and revenue of $200.61 billion, exceeding estimates, while expanding into ChatGPT advertising and San Francisco robotaxis through Zoox. CFO Brian Olsavsky and CEO Andy Jassy also sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Generation Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 5,193,506 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,237,820,000. Amazon.com makes up 12.0% of Generation Investment Management LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AMZN. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Amazon.com by 2.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Amazon.com by 0.7% during the first 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 last quarter. Sfam LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% during the first quarter. Sfam LLC now owns 1,224 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $251,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 1.1% in the first quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amazon.com News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon’s advertising business is expanding beyond its own properties through a pilot partnership that lets select advertisers extend Amazon campaigns into ChatGPT. The initiative could broaden Amazon DSP’s reach and create a new revenue channel, although financial terms remain undisclosed. Amazon Is Becoming a Gateway to ChatGPT Ads
• Positive Sentiment: Zoox is entering San Francisco’s robotaxi market, increasing Amazon’s exposure to autonomous transportation and creating potential long-term upside if the service scales successfully. Amazon’s Zoox Enters San Francisco’s Crowded Robotaxi Market
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon completed a £4.242 billion sterling-denominated senior debt offering, supporting its U.K. operations and broader funding needs. The issuance improves liquidity flexibility but also adds to the company’s debt load. Amazon Boosts UK Presence With Sterling Debt Offering

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Amazon.com from $335.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Pivotal Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $333.00 target price (up from $320.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. Citizens Jmp reissued a "market outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $335.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $323.26.

Amazon.com Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $253.54 on Tuesday. Amazon.com, Inc. has a one year low of $196.00 and a one year high of $287.20. The company has a market cap of $2.73 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $255.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.72.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. The firm had revenue of $200.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.03 billion. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 17.44%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Brian Olsavsky sold 6,172 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.31, for a total value of $1,606,633.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,427,674.17. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Andrew Jassy sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.01, for a total transaction of $5,180,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,235,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,085,751.66. This trade 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. Insiders have sold 71,589 shares of company stock worth $18,568,785 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Amazon.com 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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