Insider Selling: Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO Sells 11,475 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Amazon CEO Matthew Garman sold 11,475 shares on May 15 at an average price of $262.66, totaling about $3.0 million. The sale cut his direct ownership by roughly 50% and was made under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
• Amazon’s recent operating results were strong: the company reported Q1 EPS of $2.78, well above analyst expectations of $1.63, and revenue of $181.52 billion versus estimates of $177.28 billion. Revenue grew 16.6% year over year.
• Wall Street remains broadly bullish on AMZN, with multiple analysts raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy. The stock also continues to draw support from AI/AWS optimism and recent institutional buying, despite some headline risks and insider selling.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) CEO Matthew Garman sold 11,475 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $262.66, for a total value of $3,014,023.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,430 shares in the company, valued at $3,002,203.80. The trade was a 50.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

Shares of AMZN stock traded down $5.54 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $259.32. 40,252,527 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,061,387. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.79 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.46. Amazon.com, Inc. has a twelve month low of $196.00 and a twelve month high of $278.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $235.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $230.94.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $2.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.63 by $1.15. The business had revenue of $181.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $177.28 billion. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 19.92% and a net margin of 12.22%.The firm's revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.71 EPS for the current year.

Key Stories Impacting Amazon.com

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

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon is still seeing strong investor enthusiasm around AI and AWS, with multiple articles highlighting demand for its Trainium chips, cloud infrastructure, and industrial AI partnerships. Amazon (AMZN) Stock Falls despite Surge in Trainium AI Chip Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Hedge-fund and billionaire buying is adding a bullish tone, including reports that David Tepper doubled his Amazon stake and ARK Invest added to AMZN, which can support sentiment around the stock. Billionaire David Tepper Just Made a Big Bet. Should You Follow His Lead?
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain upbeat, with price-target raises and articles noting Amazon’s strong year-to-date performance, suggesting Wall Street still sees upside from AWS and AI data-center spending. Arete Research adjusts price target on Amazon.com
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon Web Services expanded its enterprise footprint through new collaborations with FIS and AVEVA, which are constructive long-term signs but not likely to move the stock on their own. FIS Brings Enterprise Risk Suite to Amazon Web Services
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon’s newer consumer features, including Alexa+ podcast generation and Fire TV/Alexa upgrades, support the retail and ecosystem story, but these are more incremental than immediate stock drivers. Amazon's new Alexa+ powered feature can generate podcast episodes
• Negative Sentiment: There are also a few headwinds, including a class-action lawsuit over tariff-cost claims and insider selling by CEO Douglas J. Herrington, though the sale was pre-planned under a 10b5-1 arrangement. Amazon faces class action over tariff cost claims
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentary also suggests Amazon is no longer a cheap valuation story, which can temper enthusiasm after the recent run-up in AMZN shares. Amazon (AMZN) Is No Longer Cheap. AWS Makes It Hard to Walk Away

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. now owns 9,242 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,925,000 after buying an additional 289 shares during the last quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Eley Financial Management Inc now owns 26,739 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $5,569,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Orographic Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 1st quarter worth $1,810,000. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 40,465 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $8,428,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 32,967 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $6,863,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on AMZN shares. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $333.00 target price (up from $304.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $313.00 target price (up from $307.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $320.00 price target (up from $300.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Benchmark boosted their price target on Amazon.com from $275.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their price target on Amazon.com from $340.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Fifty-seven investment 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $312.67.

Amazon.com Company 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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