Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Trading Down 1.8% – Here’s Why

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) dropped 1.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $267.10 and last traded at $267.28. 29,363,940 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 41% from the average session volume of 49,818,496 shares. The stock had previously closed at $272.27.

Amazon.com News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AppFolio selected Amazon Web Services as its preferred cloud provider, reinforcing AWS’s position in enterprise software and potentially supporting long-term cloud growth. AppFolio Names Amazon Web Services its Preferred Cloud Provider
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon won a U.S. Space Force communications contract, adding a government customer and expanding its strategic role in satellite and space-related connectivity services. Rocket Lab, Amazon Win Space Force Contracts
• Positive Sentiment: Thrive Capital invested approximately $215 million in Amazon shares, providing a notable vote of confidence from a prominent technology-focused investor. Joshua Kushner’s Thrive Capital Invests $215 Million in Amazon
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly bullish on Amazon and Alphabet, citing their leadership in cloud computing and artificial intelligence, while other reports highlight accelerating AWS demand and limited available computing capacity. Top Analyst Weighs In on Amazon and Alphabet Stocks
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon and Alphabet are committing roughly $420 billion to infrastructure, positioning AWS and related AI services for future growth but raising questions about returns on capital and financing needs. Alphabet and Amazon Are Spending $420 Billion on Infrastructure
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. retail sales declined in July after Amazon’s summer sales event, suggesting a post-Prime Day pullback in online purchases and potentially weaker near-term retail momentum. Retail Sales Slump in July
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary notes that Amazon trades at a higher multiple on projected future earnings than on recent earnings, increasing sensitivity to any slowdown in profit growth despite strong fundamentals. Amazon and Alphabet Both Cost More on Next Year’s Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Twitch’s decision to use creators’ livestream content for Amazon AI training by default has triggered backlash, creating potential reputational, regulatory and creator-retention risks. Amazon Will Train on Twitch Streamers’ Content by Default

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Pivotal Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $333.00 target price (up from $320.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. China Renaissance upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $300.00 to $326.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Maxim Group increased their price target on Amazon.com from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-six have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.56.

Amazon.com Trading Down 0.7%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $238.49. The company has a market capitalization of $2.84 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. The business had revenue of $200.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.03 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 17.44% and a return on equity of 18.00%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.68 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In other news, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 15,467 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $263.40, for a total transaction of $4,074,007.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,159 shares in the company, valued at $3,729,480.60. The trade was a 52.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.42, for a total value of $5,268,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,205,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $581,042,879.72. This represents a 0.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,650 shares of company stock valued at $16,535,457. Insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. MilWealth Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 79.0% in the fourth quarter. MilWealth Group LLC now owns 179 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 900.0% in the fourth quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 200 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

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.