Varenne Capital Partners Grows Holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Key Points

• Varenne Capital Partners increased its Amazon stake by 398.8% in the second quarter to 61,050 shares valued at $14.54 million. Institutional investors collectively own 72.2% of Amazon’s stock.
• Analysts remain bullish, with 56 Buy ratings and three Holds producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $321.63. Amazon also reported quarterly revenue growth of 19.6% and earnings that significantly exceeded estimates.
• Amazon is investing heavily in AI infrastructure, including a more than $1 billion custom-chip agreement with Synopsys and expanded AWS AI capabilities, while investors remain concerned about the scale, financing burden and uncertain returns of those investments.

Varenne Capital Partners raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 398.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 61,050 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock after purchasing an additional 48,810 shares during the period. Amazon.com makes up approximately 2.4% of Varenne Capital Partners' portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Varenne Capital Partners' holdings in Amazon.com were worth $14,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Amazon.com by 33.0% during the second quarter. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,806 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $669,000 after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in Amazon.com by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 175,224 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $42,990,000 after purchasing an additional 5,821 shares during the period. Kintra Wealth LLC grew its stake in Amazon.com by 11.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kintra Wealth LLC now owns 104,575 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $24,924,000 after purchasing an additional 10,969 shares during the period. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of Amazon.com by 10.8% during the 2nd quarter. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. now owns 8,889 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $2,119,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, POM Investment Strategies LLC increased its position in shares of Amazon.com by 223.6% during the 2nd quarter. POM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 1,220 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Amazon.com News

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

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reaffirmed its Buy rating and raised its price target to $350, implying substantial upside. Analysts and investment articles also point to AMZN’s roughly 20-times earnings valuation as historically low for the company. TD Cowen Reaffirms Buy Rating for Amazon
• Positive Sentiment: AWS is expanding its AI capabilities by hiring former Microsoft Copilot executive Pedram Rezaei to work on agentic AI, coding and workplace tools. AWS also says AI costs are falling rapidly, potentially broadening adoption and supporting future cloud demand. Amazon Hires Microsoft AI Leader
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon signed a multiyear, $1 billion-plus agreement with Synopsys to strengthen its custom-chip strategy. Developing its own chips could reduce reliance on Nvidia and improve AWS infrastructure economics over time. Amazon’s Chip Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon is investing in data-center power and community support, including more than $3 billion tied to Maryland’s Calvert Cliffs nuclear plant and $1 billion for job training and energy-efficiency programs. These investments may ease local opposition and remove infrastructure constraints on AWS expansion. Amazon Data Center Community Investment
• Positive Sentiment: Prime Big Deal Days and holiday merchandising, including Amazon’s annual kids’ gift book, provide near-term catalysts for fourth-quarter retail sales. Amazon Prepares for Holiday Sales
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon is reportedly considering moving approximately $8 billion of Nvidia chips into a special-purpose vehicle and leasing them back. The structure could improve capital flexibility, but it also highlights the scale and financing burden of AI infrastructure spending. Amazon Nvidia Chip Financing
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon blocks outside AI shopping agents while rivals are allowing greater access, raising concerns that agentic commerce could weaken Amazon’s direct relationship with shoppers or increase competitive pressure. AI Agents and Retailers
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain concerned that AI infrastructure spending may require trillions of dollars in additional revenue to justify current industry investment. Data-center opposition, power shortages and uncertain returns could pressure margins and cash flow.
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Douglas Herrington sold 1,000 shares under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction was small relative to his remaining holdings and is not necessarily a signal of deteriorating confidence, but it may add modest headline pressure. SEC Filing

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 6,362 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was 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 owned 476,681 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $123,465,145.81. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 6,172 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.31, for a total value of $1,606,633.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 109,207 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,427,674.17. This represents a 5.35% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 71,589 shares of company stock worth $18,580,515. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AMZN shares. Evercore set a $355.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $390.00 price objective (up from $280.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Monness Crespi & Hardt boosted their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $315.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $335.00 target price (up from $330.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Fifty-six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amazon.com currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $321.63.

Amazon.com Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $251.40 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $257.46 and a 200 day moving average of $248.76. The stock has a market cap of $2.71 trillion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.45. Amazon.com, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.00 and a 12 month high of $287.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

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

Amazon.com Profile

Amazon.com, Inc is a global technology and commerce company that operates online marketplaces, physical stores, and a broad portfolio of digital and cloud-based services. The company offers consumer products across categories such as electronics, household goods, apparel, groceries, and entertainment, while also providing third-party sellers with tools for listing, selling, and fulfilling orders.

Amazon's major businesses include Amazon Web Services (AWS), which provides cloud computing, storage, database, analytics, and artificial intelligence services; Prime, a membership program that includes shipping, streaming, and other benefits; and digital entertainment services such as Prime Video, Amazon Music, Kindle, and Audible.

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