Morgan Stanley Increases Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Price Target to $280.00

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $230.00 to $280.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the e-commerce giant’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 28.58% from the stock’s previous close.

AMZN has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Amazon.com from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Amazon.com from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Maxim Group raised their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $251.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Redburn Atlantic boosted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $235.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amazon.com currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $245.65.

Amazon.com Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ AMZN opened at $217.76 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Amazon.com has a 52 week low of $149.91 and a 52 week high of $233.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $217.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.74. The firm has a market cap of $2.29 trillion, a PE ratio of 46.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.14.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.29. Amazon.com had a net margin of 8.04% and a return on equity of 22.41%. The firm had revenue of $158.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Amazon.com will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jonathan Rubinstein sold 5,004 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.85, for a total value of $1,000,049.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 99,396 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,864,290.60. The trade was a 4.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 6,032,344 shares of company stock worth $1,253,456,822 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mason & Associates Inc boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Mason & Associates Inc now owns 15,047 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $3,301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com in the fourth quarter worth $333,000. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC now owns 11,171 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $2,451,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the fourth quarter valued at $354,000. Finally, Financial Enhancement Group LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Financial Enhancement Group LLC now owns 2,558 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 740 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.