Benchmark Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) had its price target raised by Benchmark from $215.00 to $265.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the e-commerce giant’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wolfe Research lifted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. HSBC lifted their target price on Amazon.com from $225.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Bank of America raised their price target on Amazon.com from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on Amazon.com from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Amazon.com has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.56.

Amazon.com Price Performance

NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $238.83 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $200.03. Amazon.com has a 52 week low of $151.61 and a 52 week high of $242.52. The stock has a market cap of $2.51 trillion, a PE ratio of 51.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.34. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 22.41% and a net margin of 8.04%. As a group, analysts forecast that Amazon.com will post 5.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $735,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 524,567 shares in the company, valued at $110,159,070. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel P. Huttenlocher sold 1,237 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.06, for a total value of $246,237.22. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 24,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,958,982.72. The trade was a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,026,212 shares of company stock valued at $625,666,424. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AMZN. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in Amazon.com by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 125 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Amazon.com by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 150,661 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 25,581 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new position in Amazon.com in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Amazon.com during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Quattro Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Amazon.com by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 234 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amazon.com Company Profile

Amazon.com, Inc engages in the retail sale of consumer products, advertising, and subscriptions service through online and physical stores in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It also manufactures and sells electronic devices, including Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TVs, Echo, Ring, Blink, and eero; and develops and produces media content.