SFE Investment Counsel Purchases 6,385 Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• SFE Investment Counsel increased its Amazon position by 8.7% in the first quarter, buying 6,385 shares and bringing its total holding to 79,642 shares worth about $16.6 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on Amazon, with multiple firms raising price targets to the $315-$325 range and the stock holding a consensus Moderate Buy rating.
• Amazon reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.78 versus $1.63 expected and revenue of $181.52 billion, while the article also notes some insider selling by CEO Andy Jassy and Director Jonathan Rubinstein.

SFE Investment Counsel grew its position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,642 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after buying an additional 6,385 shares during the period. Amazon.com accounts for approximately 2.6% of SFE Investment Counsel's investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in Amazon.com were worth $16,587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Amazon.com by 10.9% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,036,091 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $885,478,000 after acquiring an additional 397,007 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in Amazon.com by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,045 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $5,495,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 2,016,869 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $442,481,000 after purchasing an additional 54,987 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 28,975 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $6,357,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 4th quarter worth $2,153,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 31,352 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $8,621,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,175,766 shares of the company's stock, valued at $598,335,650. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jonathan Rubinstein sold 3,706 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $273.02, for a total transaction of $1,011,812.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 74,948 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,462,302.96. This represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. 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 90 days, insiders sold 140,425 shares of company stock valued at $37,715,464. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Amazon.com News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Options data and several analyst/commentary pieces suggest traders expect a post-earnings move higher, and multiple firms remain bullish on AMZN heading into the July 30 report. Ahead of Amazon Earnings, Here's What Barchart Data Says Comes Next for AMZN Stock
• Positive Sentiment: India eased e-commerce export rules, which is a win for Amazon’s international marketplace ambitions and could support long-term growth. India relaxes e-commerce investment rules for exports in win for Amazon
• Positive Sentiment: Several bullish research notes continue to frame AWS, custom silicon, and Amazon’s AI buildout as long-term growth drivers, with some investors arguing the capex surge should ultimately strengthen Amazon’s competitive moat. Amazon: Why The CapEx Surge Makes Me More Bullish, Not Less

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Monness Crespi & Hardt raised their price objective on Amazon.com from $280.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $315.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Amazon.com from a "moderate buy" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $280.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, DZ Bank boosted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $295.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Fifty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $312.91.

Amazon.com Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $232.11 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 trillion, a PE ratio of 27.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $248.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $236.32. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.00 and a 12-month high of $278.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $2.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $1.15. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 12.22%.The firm had revenue of $181.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $177.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. Amazon.com's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amazon.com Profile

Amazon.com, Inc is a diversified technology and retail company best known for its e-commerce marketplace and broad portfolio of consumer and enterprise services. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company launched as an online bookseller and expanded into a global retail platform that sells products directly to consumers and provides a marketplace for third-party sellers. Over time Amazon has grown beyond retail into areas including cloud computing, digital media, devices and logistics.

Key businesses and offerings include Amazon's online marketplace and fulfillment services, the Amazon Prime membership program (which bundles expedited shipping with streaming and other benefits), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which supplies on-demand cloud computing and storage to businesses and public-sector customers, and a range of content and advertising services such as Prime Video and Amazon Advertising.

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