Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Price Up 0.5% on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) traded up 0.5% during trading on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The company traded as high as $239.50 and last traded at $237.32. 12,447,319 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 32,057,291 shares. The stock had previously closed at $236.17.

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 net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 25.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson upped their price target on Amazon.com from $235.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Amazon.com from $220.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $250.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jonathan Rubinstein sold 4,351 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $229.85, for a total transaction of $1,000,077.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 88,203 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,273,459.55. This represents a 4.70 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 2,996,362 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.75, for a total transaction of $619,497,843.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 914,420,614 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $189,056,461,944.50. This represents a 0.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,026,212 shares of company stock worth $625,666,424 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

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

Amazon.com Trading Down 4.1 %

The business’s 50-day moving average is $226.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $200.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 41.44, a PEG ratio of 1.36 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 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.