Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $186.40, but opened at $199.00. Amazon.com shares last traded at $199.81, with a volume of 26,720,238 shares trading hands.

The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.29. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 21.39% and a net margin of 7.35%. The company had revenue of $158.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $157.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. Amazon.com’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AMZN. JMP Securities raised their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Pivotal Research initiated coverage on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, October 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $260.00 price objective on the stock. Itau BBA Securities downgraded shares of Amazon.com from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $186.00 target price for the company. in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Amazon.com from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Amazon.com from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $183.00 in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Amazon.com currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $241.16.

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In related news, SVP David Zapolsky sold 2,190 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $427,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 62,420 shares in the company, valued at $12,171,900. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Amazon.com news, SVP David Zapolsky sold 2,190 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $195.00, for a total transaction of $427,050.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 62,420 shares in the company, valued at $12,171,900. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 3,791 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.04, for a total value of $686,322.64. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 121,461 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,989,299.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,855 shares of company stock worth $9,215,048. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ABLE Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 0.8% during the third quarter. ABLE Financial Group LLC now owns 22,814 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $4,251,000 after buying an additional 187 shares during the period. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Strategic Family Wealth Counselors L.L.C. now owns 5,756 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $1,073,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 26.7% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP now owns 20,077 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $3,741,000 after acquiring an additional 4,231 shares in the last quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC lifted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Philip James Wealth Mangement LLC now owns 8,369 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $1,559,000 after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Amazon.com by 0.7% during the third quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 39,572 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $7,373,000 after purchasing an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Amazon.com Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.10 trillion, a PE ratio of 47.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $184.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.65.

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.