Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Trading 2% Higher – Should You Buy?

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares traded up 2% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $218.16 and last traded at $217.10. 14,058,910 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average session volume of 35,619,129 shares. The stock had previously closed at $212.80.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AMZN shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Amazon.com from $235.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Amazon.com from $255.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Canaccord Genuity Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $260.65.

Amazon.com Trading Up 1.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $2.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 38.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.15. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $227.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $205.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,784 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.65, for a total value of $4,585,989.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,118,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $467,532,195.90. The trade was a 0.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $735,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 524,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,159,070. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 110,149 shares of company stock worth $24,606,905. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Amazon.com in the fourth quarter worth about $2,836,000. Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Amazon.com by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 21,919 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $4,809,000 after purchasing an additional 1,113 shares during the last quarter. SWAN Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Amazon.com by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 1,804 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth about $5,927,000. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new position in Amazon.com during the 4th quarter worth $3,526,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

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.