Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Upgraded at Phillip Securities

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Phillip Securities to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports. The brokerage currently has a $280.00 target price on the e-commerce giant’s stock. Phillip Securities’ price target suggests a potential upside of 5.57% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AMZN. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Maxim Group boosted their price target on Amazon.com from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. China Renaissance increased their price objective on Amazon.com from $300.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on Amazon.com from $320.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 target price (up from $300.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Fifty-seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amazon.com has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.52.

Amazon.com Stock Down 0.2%

AMZN stock traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $265.23. 7,467,360 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 49,243,441. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.18. Amazon.com has a 1-year low of $196.00 and a 1-year high of $278.56. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $231.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $229.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.85 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.46.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $2.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $1.15. Amazon.com had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The company had revenue of $181.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 16.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Amazon.com will post 7.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 17,751 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.22, for a total value of $3,642,860.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,405 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,094.10. This represents a 65.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 27,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total transaction of $7,562,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 471,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,624,275. This represents a 5.51% 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. Insiders have sold 190,593 shares of company stock valued at $46,081,241 in the last ninety days. 8.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 832,274,556 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $158,348,557,000 after purchasing an additional 8,913,959 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Amazon.com by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 388,653,121 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $89,708,913,000 after buying an additional 6,971,680 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 225,120,994 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $51,753,622,000 after buying an additional 2,479,324 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,868,735,000. Finally, Auto Owners Insurance Co boosted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 27,376.7% during the 4th quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 98,448,885 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $2,272,397,000 after acquiring an additional 98,090,585 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Amazon.com

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

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon launched “Amazon Now,” a 30-minute delivery service in dozens of U.S. cities, expanding its quick-commerce footprint and reinforcing its logistics advantage versus rivals like Instacart and DoorDash. CNBC: Amazon accelerates delivery race with 30-minute dropoffs in dozens of U.S. cities
• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen reiterated a Buy rating and set a $350 price target, signaling Wall Street still sees meaningful upside from Amazon’s current levels. Benzinga: Amazon.com had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by TD Cowen
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Amazon’s AI buildout, including heavy capex spending, data-center expansion, and a large AI chip backlog tied to AWS growth, reinforcing the long-term cloud/AI story. Business Insider: Amazon’s race to ‘future-proof’ AI data centers for power-hungry new tech
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon Prime Video is reportedly investing 90 million euros in French film and TV production, a strategic content spend that could support engagement but also adds to investment outlays. Yahoo Finance: Amazon.com’s Prime Video Set to Invest 90 Million Euros in French Film and TV Production
• Negative Sentiment: Sen. Elizabeth Warren renewed criticism of Amazon and other tech giants over AI data centers, arguing they may be driving up electricity costs for consumers and signaling possible regulatory pressure. Yahoo Finance: Elizabeth Warren Targets Amazon, Google, Microsoft And Meta
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that hedge funds such as Vulcan Value Partners and PRIMECAP trimmed AMZN positions may add modest pressure to sentiment, though these are not necessarily bearish on the business itself. TipRanks: Vulcan Value Partners cuts Amazon stake

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.