Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Trading 1.5% Higher Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) were up 1.5% on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $182.23 and last traded at $177.67. Approximately 36,187,280 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 43,456,793 shares. The stock had previously closed at $175.00.

The e-commerce giant reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.15. Amazon.com had a net margin of 5.29% and a return on equity of 16.61%. The firm had revenue of $143.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $142.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AMZN shares. Moffett Nathanson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $228.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wolfe Research lifted their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $195.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $205.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $210.18.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Adam Selipsky sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $77,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 116,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,150,723.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Adam Selipsky sold 500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.72, for a total transaction of $77,860.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 116,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,150,723.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 2,009,208 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.79, for a total transaction of $335,115,802.32. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 938,251,817 shares in the company, valued at $156,491,020,557.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,214,010 shares of company stock worth $5,505,889,146. Insiders own 10.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cooksen Wealth LLC bought a new position in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. PayPay Securities Corp grew its stake in Amazon.com by 54.3% in the 3rd quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 267 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Amazon.com by 45.0% in the 4th quarter. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. now owns 277 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Strid Group LLC bought a new position in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 299,959 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,988 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amazon.com Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $178.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.86 trillion, a P/E ratio of 61.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16.

Amazon.com Company Profile

Amazon.com, Inc engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero; and develops and produces media content.