Magellan Asset Management Ltd Buys Shares of 627,789 Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management acquired 627,789 Amazon shares worth approximately $149.6 million in the second quarter, making Amazon its 12th-largest holding and about 3.3% of its portfolio.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial at 72.2%, while several other funds also initiated or increased positions. Analysts maintain a broadly positive view, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $321.19.
• Amazon’s growth outlook is supported by strong AWS and AI demand, but investors face pressure from planned capital expenditures, potentially negative free cash flow, regulatory scrutiny and ongoing insider share sales.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 627,789 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock, valued at approximately $149,627,000. Amazon.com makes up about 3.3% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Silvant Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Amazon.com during the second quarter worth approximately $60,065,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,376,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 73,085 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $15,221,000 after buying an additional 5,125 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 303,862 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $63,285,000 after acquiring an additional 5,104 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the second quarter valued at about $2,261,000. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amazon.com News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon agreed to purchase up to $8 billion of backup generators from Generac, including approximately $2.4 billion of deliveries in 2027–2028. The deal should help Amazon bring AWS data centers online despite grid-connection delays and power shortages, while Amazon receives warrants to purchase Generac shares. Generac Plugs into Amazon for an $8B AI-Powered Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and investors continue to point to accelerating AWS demand, with reports citing a $169 billion annualized revenue run rate and a large cloud backlog. That supports expectations that AI-related infrastructure spending can translate into future sales, despite near-term cash-flow pressure. Amazon’s Andy Jassy Just Made a Startling Prediction
• Positive Sentiment: Project Mercury aims to expand Amazon’s same-day delivery network to more than 1,000 hubs by 2031. Bank of America called the initiative strategically important as Amazon attempts to narrow Walmart’s proximity and convenience advantage. Amazon’s secret weapon against Walmart could be a massive blitz in same-day delivery
• Positive Sentiment: AWS made its AI-powered hiring product, Amazon Connect Talent, generally available, expanding Amazon’s enterprise AI offerings beyond cloud infrastructure. Amazon has also received favorable attention from UBS analysts among top technology stock picks.
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon is promoting industry and government cooperation on AI safety standards, emphasizing testing before release without calling for a broader slowdown in development. The stance may improve trust but is unlikely to materially change near-term results. Amazon Urges Industry and Government Partnership on AI Safeguards
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon faces European Commission scrutiny over marketplace rules that may restrict sellers from offering lower prices elsewhere, creating potential regulatory and compliance costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that roughly $220 billion of planned 2026 capital expenditures could keep free cash flow negative. Higher wages, delivery costs and possible electricity-grid charges for data centers add to the spending burden.
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. senators have urged the FTC to investigate Amazon’s AI shopping tools over alleged suppression of U.S.-made products and misleading “Made in USA” labels. The company also continues to face reputational and legal attention related to its Prime settlement.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Amazon.com news, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 6,172 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.31, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 5.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 the company's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $123,465,145.81. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,589 shares of company stock worth $18,568,785. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $325.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. HSBC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Pivotal Research restated a "buy" rating and set a $333.00 price target (up from $320.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Fifty-six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $321.19.

Amazon.com Price Performance

Amazon.com stock opened at $253.71 on Monday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $256.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.86. The company has a market capitalization of $2.74 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 1.44. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.00 and a 1 year high of $287.20. 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 (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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. The business had revenue of $200.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.03 billion. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 17.44%.The company's revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.01 earnings per share for the current year.

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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