SFE Investment Counsel Takes Position in Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

SFE Investment Counsel acquired a new position in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 81,327 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock, valued at approximately $19,383,000. Amazon.com makes up about 2.6% of SFE Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. MilWealth Group LLC increased its stake in Amazon.com by 79.0% in the 4th quarter. MilWealth Group LLC now owns 179 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Lifetime Wealth Management P.C. purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 900.0% in the 4th quarter. Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership now owns 200 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 95.6% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 221 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Amazon.com by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. now owns 229 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In other news, CEO Douglas Herrington sold 6,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.01, for a total value of $1,647,821.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123,465,145.81. The trade was a 1.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Brian Olsavsky sold 6,172 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.31, for a total transaction of $1,606,633.32. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 109,207 shares in the company, valued at $28,427,674.17. The trade was a 5.35% 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,568,785. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Amazon.com News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: AWS expands its custom-chip strategy. Amazon and Qualcomm announced a multi-generation collaboration to develop customized AI data-center silicon, initially focused on AWS inference, along with optical-connectivity solutions of up to 1.6T. The agreement diversifies Amazon’s supply chain beyond Nvidia, Broadcom and its internally developed Trainium chips, while supporting AWS’s long-term AI infrastructure buildout. Qualcomm Announces Multi-Generational Product Collaboration with Amazon
• Positive Sentiment: Profitability remains a key investment argument. Commentary highlighted AWS’s roughly 39% operating margin and recent acceleration in cloud growth as reasons investors may view Amazon’s valuation as attractive, particularly with the stock trading near its 50-day moving average and below its recent high. Amazon’s AWS Operating Margin
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon is preparing a sterling bond offering. The company has hired banks for its first sterling-denominated bond sale, apparently seeking additional funding sources for major AI and infrastructure investments. The move may improve financing flexibility, but it also underscores the scale of Amazon’s capital requirements. Amazon Hires Banks for First Sterling Bond Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Fatal Prime Air crash increases operational and reputational risk. Federal investigators are examining why a contractor-operated Boeing 767 cargo jet overshot the Miami runway by about 1,300 feet, killing five people. The investigation could bring additional scrutiny to Amazon Air’s contractor oversight, logistics practices and potential liability. Investigators Probe Amazon Cargo Plane Crash
• Negative Sentiment: Employment lawsuit adds legal and regulatory uncertainty. Four former warehouse workers allege Amazon discriminated against pregnant employees by penalizing medically necessary breaks and absences. The class-action complaint could create litigation costs and renewed scrutiny of warehouse labor policies. Amazon Sued for Allegedly Discriminating Against Pregnant Workers

Amazon.com Stock Down 0.6%

AMZN stock opened at $256.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $2.77 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.44. Amazon.com, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.00 and a fifty-two week high of $287.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $254.88 and a 200-day moving average of $243.41.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. The business 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%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on AMZN. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Amazon.com from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Rosenblatt Securities assumed coverage on Amazon.com in a research report on Thursday, August 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $335.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $375.00 target price (up from $335.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, UBS Group set a $318.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-six have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.26.

Amazon.com Profile

Amazon.com, Inc is a global technology and e-commerce company that operates online marketplaces and provides a broad range of consumer products and services. Its retail business sells merchandise directly to customers and enables third-party sellers to offer products through Amazon’s websites and applications. The company also operates physical stores and provides services such as digital content, subscriptions, and consumer devices, including Kindle and Echo products.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides cloud computing, storage, database, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technology services to businesses, governments, and organizations.