Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 17,728 Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 125,073 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,728 shares during the period. Amazon.com comprises approximately 1.3% of Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $31,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMZN. National Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Amazon.com by 5.1% during the third quarter. National Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 13,672 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $3,406,000 after buying an additional 666 shares in the last quarter. Aegis Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Amazon.com by 9.1% during the third quarter. Aegis Wealth Management Inc. now owns 3,429 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $854,000 after buying an additional 285 shares during the period. FSA Wealth Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 37.7% in the third quarter. FSA Wealth Partners Inc. now owns 1,232 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 23.1% in the third quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 5,823 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $1,451,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AGH Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 4.8% in the third quarter. AGH Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 14,135 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $3,522,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

Key Amazon.com News

Investors following AMZN have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon plans to hire 300,000 seasonal workers for the holidays, a sign of preparations for peak shopping demand. Investors are also watching a planned Amazon Leo rocket launch as a step toward expanding its satellite-internet service. What Is Going on with Amazon Stock on Thursday? Amazon Stock Rises Ahead of a Leo Rocket Launch
• Neutral Sentiment: Amazon shared progress on its $2.5 billion Future Ready 2030 skills-training commitment. The program may support workforce development and hiring over time, but its direct near-term financial impact is unclear. Amazon Future Ready 2030 update
• Negative Sentiment: Amazon also faces legal overhangs: Italian prosecutors are pursuing an investigation into alleged unpaid import VAT and customs duties, and a U.S. court certified a class action alleging biometric-data violations involving Amazon Photos. Outcomes and potential financial exposure remain uncertain. Amazon Could Face Trial in Italy Over Unpaid Import VAT Class action over alleged Amazon Photos biometric-data collection

Amazon.com Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $267.44 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $254.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $244.21. The stock has a market cap of $2.89 trillion, a PE ratio of 21.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.99. Amazon.com, Inc. has a one year low of $196.00 and a one year high of $287.20.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.89 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $202.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.95 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.80 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on AMZN shares. Zacks Research lowered Amazon.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Bank of America restated a “buy” rating and issued a $317.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, October 30th. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “positive” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $321.74.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Andrew Jassy sold 20,000 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 9,258 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.77, for a total value of $2,404,950.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,699,926.30. This represents a 18.35% decrease in their position. 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 quarter, insiders have sold 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,545,595. 8.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Amazon.com

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.