Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the forty-five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $260.65.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Amazon.com from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Amazon.com from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Amazon.com from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Amazon.com from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Amazon.com from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

AMZN stock opened at $196.21 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $2.08 trillion, a P/E ratio of 35.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.19. Amazon.com has a 1 year low of $151.61 and a 1 year high of $242.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.87. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $218.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.44.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.34. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 9.29%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Amazon.com will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amazon.com news, CFO Brian T. Olsavsky sold 14,620 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.14, for a total value of $3,262,306.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 49,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,933,860. This trade represents a 22.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 27,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.27, for a total transaction of $6,332,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 497,067 shares in the company, valued at $114,459,618.09. This trade represents a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 102,298 shares of company stock worth $22,871,828. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 125 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Perritt Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 72.7% during the 4th quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 190 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Amazon.com

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.