Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-seven analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and forty-five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $248.96.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AMZN shares. HSBC increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Westpark Capital started coverage on Amazon.com in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lowered their target price on Amazon.com from $285.00 to $255.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Amazon.com from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th.

Amazon.com Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of AMZN stock opened at $173.18 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $196.07 and its 200 day moving average is $207.85. Amazon.com has a 12-month low of $151.61 and a 12-month high of $242.52.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.34. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 9.29%. Research analysts expect that Amazon.com will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 8,833 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.47, for a total transaction of $1,965,077.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 119,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,647,456.60. This trade represents a 6.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.99, for a total value of $469,975.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 509,474 shares in the company, valued at $95,776,017.26. This trade represents a 0.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 104,798 shares of company stock valued at $23,341,803. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Amazon.com by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 823,360,597 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $180,637,081,000 after buying an additional 17,635,391 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 3.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 359,179,990 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $66,926,008,000 after acquiring an additional 11,370,309 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 328,464,225 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $72,061,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725,664 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Amazon.com by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 204,930,426 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $44,837,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,015,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 182,813,905 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $40,107,544,000 after purchasing an additional 4,087,933 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.