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

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Benchmark from $370.00 to $400.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the e-commerce giant’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 49.69% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Pivotal Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $333.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday. New Street Research boosted their price objective on Amazon.com from $280.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $360.00 price target (up from $355.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday. Fifty-seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.38.

Amazon.com Trading Up 13.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $267.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.46. Amazon.com has a 52-week low of $196.00 and a 52-week high of $278.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $245.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $235.97. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. Amazon.com had a net margin of 12.22% and a return on equity of 19.92%. The business had revenue of $200.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Amazon.com will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 15,467 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.40, for a total transaction of $4,074,007.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,729,480.60. This trade represents a 52.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 27,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $7,562,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 471,361 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,624,275. The trade was a 5.51% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 135,719 shares of company stock worth $36,438,002. 8.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.3% during the first quarter. Red Crane Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Amazon.com by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Robinson Smith Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,509 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $1,147,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Sfam LLC lifted its stake in Amazon.com by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Sfam LLC now owns 1,224 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 3.4% during the 1st quarter. Measured Risk Portfolios Inc. now owns 1,206 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust now owns 3,620 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $754,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Amazon.com

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results: Amazon reported $200.6 billion in revenue, up 20% year over year, while adjusted earnings per share of $5.75 substantially exceeded the $1.82 consensus estimate. Operating income increased 43% to $27.5 billion. Amazon.com Announces Second Quarter Results
• Positive Sentiment: AWS growth eased AI-spending concerns: AWS revenue surged 37% to $42.2 billion, its fastest growth in more than four years, as enterprise AI demand and new arrangements with Meta and OpenAI drove cloud consumption. AWS operating profit reached $16.6 billion, supporting the view that Amazon is beginning to monetize its substantial AI investments. Amazon jumps as AWS growth soothes fears over rising AI spending
• Positive Sentiment: Broad business momentum: North America sales rose 16%, advertising revenue climbed 26% to nearly $20 billion, and Prime Day activity helped support the retail business. Amazon also said AI demand remains strong, with CEO Andy Jassy describing future AWS capacity needs as “striking.” Amazon Thrives On Big Q2 For AI, Advertising Revenue Climbs
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism intensified: JPMorgan raised its price target to $365 from $330 and maintained an Overweight rating. Truist lifted its target to $350 from $320, while Monness Crespi, Rosenblatt, KeyCorp, Baird, Bank of America and other firms also raised or reaffirmed bullish targets. J.P. Morgan raises Amazon price target
• Positive Sentiment: Zoox reached a commercial milestone: Amazon’s autonomous-vehicle unit received approval to begin charging for rides in its purpose-built, steering-wheel-free robotaxis, allowing limited deployment in Las Vegas. The move could create a long-term growth option, although safety advocates questioned the supporting data. Amazon’s Zoox to begin charging for rides in Las Vegas
• Neutral Sentiment: Investment returns remain under scrutiny: Amazon plans approximately $220 billion of 2026 capital spending, largely for AI infrastructure. Management sees demand exceeding available capacity, but the spending weighs on free cash flow and has raised questions about financing and future margins. Amazon will spend $220 billion this year
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term guidance was softer than expected: Amazon forecast third-quarter revenue of $197 billion to $202 billion, below the roughly $204.6 billion analyst consensus, creating a potential offset to the otherwise strong results.

Amazon.com Company Profile

Amazon.com, Inc is a diversified technology and retail company best known for its e-commerce marketplace and broad portfolio of consumer and enterprise services. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company launched as an online bookseller and expanded into a global retail platform that sells products directly to consumers and provides a marketplace for third-party sellers. Over time Amazon has grown beyond retail into areas including cloud computing, digital media, devices and logistics.

Key businesses and offerings include Amazon’s online marketplace and fulfillment services, the Amazon Prime membership program (which bundles expedited shipping with streaming and other benefits), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which supplies on-demand cloud computing and storage to businesses and public-sector customers, and a range of content and advertising services such as Prime Video and Amazon Advertising.