Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Up 1.1% – Time to Buy?

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares rose 1.1% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $175.52 and last traded at $172.55. Approximately 24,223,769 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 41% from the average daily volume of 41,044,323 shares. The stock had previously closed at $170.66.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Amazon.com from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Amazon.com from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $259.04.

Amazon.com Price Performance

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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.70. The stock has a market cap of $1.83 trillion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.39.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.34. Amazon.com had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 24.25%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other news, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 8,833 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.47, for a total value of $1,965,077.51. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 119,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,647,456.60. This trade represents a 6.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $187.99, for a total transaction of $469,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 509,474 shares in the company, valued at approximately $95,776,017.26. The trade was a 0.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 104,798 shares of company stock valued at $23,341,803. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amazon.com

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 823,360,597 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $180,637,081,000 after buying an additional 17,635,391 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 359,179,990 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $66,926,008,000 after buying an additional 11,370,309 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 328,464,225 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $72,061,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,725,664 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 204,930,426 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $44,837,256,000 after acquiring an additional 5,015,380 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Amazon.com by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 182,813,905 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $40,107,544,000 after acquiring an additional 4,087,933 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is currently 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.