Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Down 3.5% on Analyst Downgrade

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares were down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Monday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $275.00 to $250.00. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Amazon.com traded as low as $184.40 and last traded at $185.94. Approximately 20,174,205 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 49% from the average daily volume of 39,765,654 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.72.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, February 7th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Amazon.com from $246.00 to $306.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Amazon.com from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Amazon.com from $245.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 5,501 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.44, for a total transaction of $1,256,648.44. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,318 shares in the company, valued at $115,434,843.92. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 8,833 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $26,647,456.60. The trade was a 6.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 102,298 shares of company stock valued at $22,871,828. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMZN. Milestone Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth $1,860,000. Avant Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,183,000. Fire Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,993,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Amazon.com in the fourth quarter worth $1,814,000. Finally, Prostatis Group LLC raised its stake in Amazon.com by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Prostatis Group LLC now owns 13,766 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $3,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com Stock Down 2.9 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $216.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $209.25. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.98 trillion, a P/E ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.19.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.