Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $240.45 and last traded at $239.80, with a volume of 10795097 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $235.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on AMZN. Bank of America increased their price target on Amazon.com from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. HSBC lifted their price target on Amazon.com from $225.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $235.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $224.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $249.46.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.51 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.72. 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 (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.43 earnings per share (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 business 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 firm earned $0.85 earnings per share. Amazon.com’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 5.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In other news, Director Jonathan Rubinstein sold 5,004 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.85, for a total transaction of $1,000,049.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 99,396 shares in the company, valued at $19,864,290.60. This trade represents a 4.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total transaction of $735,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 524,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,159,070. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,032,344 shares of company stock valued at $1,253,456,822 in the last three months. Corporate 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. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 400.0% during the 4th quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 125 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. PayPay Securities Corp lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Hoese & Co LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 23.8% during the 4th quarter. Quattro Financial Advisors LLC now owns 234 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Bull Oak Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.