Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Price Up 1.3% – Still a Buy?

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s stock price traded up 1.3% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $253.56 and last traded at $251.52. 33,007,602 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 30% from the average session volume of 46,862,676 shares. The stock had previously closed at $248.23.

Amazon.com News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AWS growth and Anthropic exposure: Anthropic’s reported draft IPO prospectus indicates it could owe AWS roughly $110 billion over the next decade for cloud services. The potential IPO also highlights the value of Amazon’s Anthropic stake and strengthens the case for sustained AWS demand. Amazon Is Both Landlord and Shareholder in Anthropic’s Giant Cloud Bet
• Positive Sentiment: Data-center expansion support: Amazon plans to invest more than $1 billion over five years in communities hosting its data centers, including job training, education and infrastructure programs. The initiative is intended to reduce local opposition and remove obstacles to AWS capacity expansion. Amazon to Invest $1 Billion in U.S. Data Center Communities
• Positive Sentiment: Custom chips and power availability: A more than $1 billion Synopsys agreement supports Amazon’s Trainium and Graviton strategy, potentially reducing reliance on Nvidia. A 20-year nuclear power agreement with Constellation should provide electricity for AI workloads and support long-term AWS expansion. Amazon Signs $1 Billion Synopsys Deal
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst and margin optimism: Goldman Sachs added Amazon to its conviction list, while New Street raised its price target to $385. Analysts also see substantial valuation upside if modest improvements in retail logistics and international margins translate into stronger free cash flow. New Street Raises Amazon Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Asset-light AI financing: Amazon is reportedly exploring a special-purpose vehicle to sell approximately $8 billion of Nvidia chips to investors and lease them back. The move could improve near-term balance-sheet flexibility, but it also underscores the scale and financing demands of AI capital spending. Amazon Seeks to Offload Nvidia Chips
• Negative Sentiment: Costs, regulation and labor issues: Reports of rising chip-rental prices, heavy AI capital expenditure and potential EU cloud rules may pressure returns. A New York warehouse strike over safety concerns and additional Prime-related settlements add smaller legal and reputational headwinds. Amazon and Microsoft Cloud Businesses Could Face Tougher EU Rules

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Amazon.com from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 target price (up from $280.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded Amazon.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Fifty-six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.63.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $256.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $248.23. The firm has a market cap of $2.71 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.45.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. The firm had revenue of $200.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.03 billion. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 17.44%.Amazon.com’s revenue was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other news, SVP David Zapolsky sold 9,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.77, for a total value of $2,404,950.66. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 41,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,699,926.30. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 2,343 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.01, for a total transaction of $606,860.43. Following the sale, the vice president owned 119,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $31,024,217.80. This trade represents a 1.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 70,589 shares of company stock worth $18,329,015 over the last quarter. Insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GoalVest Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 289.7% in the third quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 86,308 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $21,504,000 after buying an additional 64,160 shares during the period. Planning Strategies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Planning Strategies Inc. now owns 3,285 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $818,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Private Client Services LLC grew its stake in Amazon.com by 22.2% during the third quarter. Private Client Services LLC now owns 17,268 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $4,302,000 after buying an additional 3,132 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 3.3% in the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 34,435 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $8,579,000 after purchasing an additional 1,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Amazon.com by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 41,821 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $10,132,000 after acquiring an additional 2,583 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc is a global technology and commerce company that operates online marketplaces, physical stores, and a broad portfolio of digital and cloud-based services. The company offers consumer products across categories such as electronics, household goods, apparel, groceries, and entertainment, while also providing third-party sellers with tools for listing, selling, and fulfilling orders.

Amazon’s major businesses include Amazon Web Services (AWS), which provides cloud computing, storage, database, analytics, and artificial intelligence services; Prime, a membership program that includes shipping, streaming, and other benefits; and digital entertainment services such as Prime Video, Amazon Music, Kindle, and Audible.