Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Buys New Holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• Sterling Financial Planning bought 2,561 Amazon shares worth approximately $610,000 in the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 72.2% of Amazon’s stock.
• Amazon reported strong quarterly results, with revenue rising 19.6% year over year to $200.61 billion and EPS of $5.75, well above estimates. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $321.19.
• Growth prospects are supported by accelerating AWS and AI demand, an $8 billion Generac backup-power agreement, and expanded same-day delivery plans. However, investors remain concerned about heavy capital spending, potential negative free cash flow, and regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe.

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,561 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock, valued at approximately $610,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Burnham & Co LLC purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the second quarter valued at $6,007,000. Robinhood Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the second quarter worth about $28,751,000. Heron Bay Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the second quarter worth about $59,957,000. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the second quarter valued at approximately $108,338,000. Finally, Expressive Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,506,000. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Amazon.com

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMZN has been the subject of several research reports. Monness Crespi & Hardt upped their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Telsey Advisory Group set a $335.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com and gave the stock 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 issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $321.19.

Amazon.com Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $253.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business's fifty day moving average price is $256.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $245.60. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.44. Amazon.com, Inc. has a one year low of $196.00 and a one year high of $287.20.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. The company had revenue of $200.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.03 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 17.44% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 6,362 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.01, for a total transaction of $1,647,821.62. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at $123,465,145.81. The trade was a 1.32% 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 Matthew Garman sold 14,541 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.06, for a total value of $3,766,991.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 17,794 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,609,713.64. The trade was a 44.97% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,568,785. 8.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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