Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. 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 traded.

The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Amazon.com’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Amazon.com from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $225.00 to $183.00 in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Amazon.com from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. JMP Securities upped their target price on Amazon.com from $265.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Amazon.com from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on Amazon.com from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-one have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $244.11.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PayPay Securities Corp raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 64.6% during the second quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 163 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the third quarter worth $37,000. Bull Oak Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the third quarter worth $45,000. Values First Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the third quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 650.0% during the second quarter. Christopher J. Hasenberg Inc now owns 300 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amazon.com Stock Up 6.2 %

The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.35, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.14. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $183.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

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.