Shikiar Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• Shikiar Asset Management reduced its Amazon stake by 2.9% in the first quarter, selling 2,728 shares and leaving it with 89,929 shares worth about $18.73 million.
• Despite some portfolio trimming by one investor, institutional ownership remains high at 72.2%, and several other funds recently increased their Amazon holdings.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish on Amazon, with 57 Buy ratings versus 3 Holds and an average price target of $312.62; the company also posted strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates.

Shikiar Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 89,929 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after selling 2,728 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com makes up approximately 5.4% of Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Shikiar Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $18,730,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AMZN. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 4.8% during the first quarter. Lighthouse Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,777 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $578,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. KOM Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. KOM Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 1,829 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 484 shares during the period. Financial & Tax Architects LLC increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. Financial & Tax Architects LLC now owns 11,178 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $2,328,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the period. Traub Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Traub Capital Management LLC now owns 9,033 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 71,633 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $14,919,000 after acquiring an additional 1,973 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AMZN shares. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $320.00 price objective (up from $245.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $313.00 price target (up from $312.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Roth Capital lifted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $285.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $296.00 to $332.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Fifty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $312.62.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 15,467 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.40, for a total transaction of $4,074,007.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,159 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,729,480.60. This trade represents a 52.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 9,270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.53, for a total transaction of $2,489,273.10. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,190 shares in the company, valued at $11,060,750.70. The trade was a 18.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 195,774 shares of company stock worth $51,643,704 in the last three months. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

AMZN opened at $243.62 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.62 trillion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $253.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $235.10. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.00 and a 52-week high of $278.56.

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

More Amazon.com News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Needham reiterated a Buy rating and $300 price target on Amazon, signaling continued optimism ahead of earnings. Wall Street analyst updates Amazon stock price target
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen said Amazon’s accelerating AWS cloud business should help deliver strong second-quarter results, reinforcing the core growth story. Amazon's accelerating cloud business to deliver strong Q2—TD Cowen
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon is expanding its AI and infrastructure footprint, including reports that it has enough satellites in orbit to begin rolling out Amazon Leo broadband and is deepening AWS security offerings in Europe. Amazon.com (AMZN) A Top AI Stock on Wall Street Radar Pursuing Broadband Service Opportunities
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon’s exposure to Anthropic and broader AI infrastructure spending continues to be viewed as a long-term growth lever, but it also highlights how much the stock is being tied to the success of the AI boom. Want Anthropic Exposure Before the IPO? These 2 AI Giants Are Already There
• Negative Sentiment: The new bond sale and broader AI capex push are raising concerns about leverage, future borrowing costs, and the timeline for returns, especially as some investors question whether the AI spend is becoming excessive. Amazon’s $25 billion ‘surprise’ bond sale dangled extra yield...
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of insider selling and a cooler tone in tech sentiment are adding to the pressure on the shares near term. Amazon (AMZN) Stock Rises as It Taps Debt Market for $25 Billion AI Push

About Amazon.com

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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