USS Investment Management Ltd Buys 542,626 Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• USS Investment Management Ltd increased its Amazon stake by 20.4% in the first quarter, buying 542,626 more shares and bringing its total to 3.2 million shares worth about $665.8 million.
• Institutional ownership of Amazon remains very high, with hedge funds and other institutional investors holding 72.20% of the company’s stock.
• Wall Street sentiment is still positive overall: Amazon has 57 Buy ratings versus three Holds, and analysts currently have a consensus price target of $312.79.

USS Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 20.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,196,522 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after purchasing an additional 542,626 shares during the period. Amazon.com comprises about 2.8% of USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 6th biggest holding. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Amazon.com were worth $665,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,036,091 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $885,478,000 after buying an additional 397,007 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 4.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 986 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 54,987 shares in the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Liberty Square Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,153,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Amazon.com from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $319.00 target price on Amazon.com and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on Amazon.com from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Fifty-seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $312.79.

Key Stories Impacting Amazon.com

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

• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Amazon’s expanding AI/data-center buildout, including plans to increase capacity and a $25 billion bond sale to fund infrastructure, which bulls see as supporting long-term AWS growth. Amazon’s New Debt Deal Puts Its AI Spending Story on Trial
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage remained constructive, with BNP Paribas keeping an Outperform rating and a $345 target, while BofA raised its price target and cited improving sell-through trends for Amazon’s retail business. Amazon's Valuation Looks Attractive Ahead of Earnings: Analyst
• Positive Sentiment: Articles also framed Amazon as a leading AI winner, noting that hyperscaler spending may be “pre-sold” through future demand and that Amazon’s valuation remains attractive relative to peers. Nervous About AI Spending? Buy the Stocks of These 3 Tech Giants.
• Neutral Sentiment: One story said Amazon is cheaper than Walmart and Costco on a key valuation metric, but the explanation was more about business mix than a clear near-term catalyst. Why Is Amazon so Much Cheaper Than Walmart and Costco? This Is the Only Answer I Can Think of.
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain wary of Amazon’s heavy capex and rising debt needs, with some coverage warning that free cash flow has been squeezed as the company funds its AI expansion. Huge News for Amazon Stock Investors!
• Negative Sentiment: There were also headlines about Third Point trimming its Amazon stake and commentary about insider selling, which can add to short-term caution. Billionaire Investor Retreats From Retail, Exits Alibaba Entirely, Cuts Amazon Stake 10%

Amazon.com Stock Down 0.7%

AMZN stock opened at $245.34 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $253.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.31. The company has a market cap of $2.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35, a PEG ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.46. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.00 and a 12-month high of $278.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

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

Insider Activity

In other Amazon.com news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.77, for a total value of $239,770.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 484,527 shares in the company, valued at $116,175,038.79. The trade was a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 9,270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.53, for a total value of $2,489,273.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,060,750.70. The trade was a 18.37% 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 quarter, insiders have sold 195,774 shares of company stock valued at $51,643,704. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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