Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. Sells 38,654 Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• Halter Ferguson Financial cut its Amazon stake by 95.7% in the third quarter, selling 38,654 shares. It retained 1,717 shares valued at about $428,000.
• Amazon slightly missed quarterly expectations, reporting earnings of $1.89 per share versus $1.97 expected and revenue of $201.94 billion versus $202.22 billion expected; revenue still grew 12.1% year over year.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $321.74. Investors are weighing AWS and AI growth prospects against concerns about heavy investment and the timing of returns.

Halter Ferguson Financial Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 95.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,717 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after selling 38,654 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com accounts for approximately 0.1% of Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Halter Ferguson Financial Inc.'s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 4.2% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 4,648 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,158,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 4.4% during the third quarter. Cardinal Point Capital Management ULC now owns 39,791 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $9,914,000 after acquiring an additional 1,694 shares in the last quarter. Oakmont Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oakmont Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 12,331 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $3,072,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Amazon.com by 6.7% during the third quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 183,899 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $48,264,000 after acquiring an additional 11,502 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kachkovsky & Fisher Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 3.7% in the third quarter. Kachkovsky & Fisher Inc. now owns 6,134 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Amazon.com

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

• Positive Sentiment: AWS and AI opportunities support the long-term outlook. AWS growth has accelerated, and CEO Andy Jassy has indicated the cloud business could grow around 40% in 2027 and 2028. Amazon’s stake in Anthropic could also gain value if the AI company proceeds with a potential IPO, although the outcome is uncertain. AWS growth outlook Amazon's Anthropic investment
• Positive Sentiment: New customer and shopping features could strengthen Prime. Amazon’s Uber Eats partnership lets Prime members order restaurant meals through Amazon, while expanded Alexa shopping tools add functions for managing subscriptions, billing questions, and lists. These moves may boost engagement, though their near-term financial impact is unclear. Uber Eats partnership Alexa shopping functions
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon plans to raise U.S. marketplace fulfillment fees by an average of 19 cents per item in 2027. The increase could help offset costs but may add pressure on sellers. Seller fee changes
• Negative Sentiment: Market-wide tech weakness and spending concerns weighed on sentiment. Amazon shares pulled back as a technology selloff erased earlier gains. Investors are also weighing Amazon’s recent earnings miss against substantial AI and data-center investment, which raises concerns about cash flow and the timing of returns—even as AWS demand remains strong. Technology selloff Earnings and spending concerns
• Negative Sentiment: FTC allegations add advertising-related regulatory risk. The FTC alleges Amazon misled advertisers about the reasons for increases in ad prices around major shopping events, potentially adding legal and reputational concerns. FTC allegations

Amazon.com Stock Down 2.2%

AMZN stock opened at $260.21 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.81 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $253.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $243.43. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.97 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $201.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.22 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 16.90% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.80 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 target price (up from $315.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial set a $390.00 price objective on Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, October 30th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $365.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Amazon.com from $330.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-five have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Amazon.com currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $321.74.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 14,541 shares of the business'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. The trade was a 44.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 9,258 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.77, for a total value of $2,404,950.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,190 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,699,926.30. This trade represents a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 have sold a total of 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,545,595 in the last 90 days. 8.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Amazon.com

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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