Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Down 1.7% – Here’s Why

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 1.7% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $265.62 and last traded at $266.17. Approximately 36,979,320 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average daily volume of 46,712,500 shares. The stock had previously closed at $270.87.

Top Amazon.com Stories

Investors following AMZN have been watching these stories:

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon is developing a “World Product Graph,” a database of products sold across the internet. If successful, it could help Amazon surface products beyond its own marketplace and compete for shopping searches and related advertising revenue. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon’s cloud growth and its custom-chip business remain part of the bullish case. A recent article cited AWS growth of 39% in the latest quarter, supporting expectations that cloud and AI demand can drive future expansion. AWS growth article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors were watching a planned launch of 40 Amazon Leo satellites, a step toward expanding the company’s satellite-internet service. The launch is a potential long-term growth catalyst, though execution and commercial returns remain to be proven. Amazon Leo launch article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on AMZN shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Citigroup restated a “market outperform” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, October 30th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $348.00 target price (up from $318.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Monday, October 26th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $365.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target (up from $315.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-five have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $321.74.

Amazon.com Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $254.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $244.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.87 trillion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.49.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.97 by ($0.08). Amazon.com had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 16.90%. The company had revenue of $201.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $202.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.95 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.80 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Andrew Jassy sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.01, for a total transaction of $5,180,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,235,766 shares in the company, valued at approximately $579,085,751.66. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 9,258 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 41,190 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,699,926.30. This represents a 18.35% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,545,595 over the last ninety days. 8.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMZN. Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the second quarter valued at approximately $60,065,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Amazon.com in the second quarter worth approximately $909,868,000. Northstar Financial Companies Inc. bought a new position in Amazon.com in the second quarter worth approximately $3,376,000. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 73,085 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $15,221,000 after purchasing an additional 5,125 shares during the period. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 303,862 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $63,285,000 after purchasing an additional 5,104 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amazon.com Company Profile

Amazon.com, Inc. is a technology and e-commerce company founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 as an online bookstore. It has since grown into a global business serving consumers, sellers, developers, enterprises and content creators. Amazon operates online stores and marketplaces, where it sells products directly and enables third-party sellers to reach customers. Its other businesses include Amazon Web Services, which provides cloud computing and related services; digital advertising; Prime memberships; and entertainment offerings such as streaming video and music.