Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Shares Up 2.5% – Still a Buy?

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares rose 2.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $266.40 and last traded at $265.84. Approximately 35,251,735 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the average daily volume of 49,368,219 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.45.

Trending Headlines about Amazon.com

Here are the key news stories impacting Amazon.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Prime Air expansion provides a growth catalyst. Amazon plans to expand drone delivery from 11 locations to nearly 500 U.S. cities and towns by the end of 2026. Packages weighing up to five pounds could arrive in as little as 30 minutes, strengthening Amazon’s delivery advantage as it competes with Walmart, FedEx, Wing and Zipline. Amazon to expand drone service to nearly 500 cities
• Positive Sentiment: AWS growth is reaccelerating on AI demand. AWS revenue reportedly grew 37% year over year to $42.2 billion, its fastest pace in more than four years. Amazon’s AWS AI business surpassed a $25 billion annualized revenue run rate, with triple-digit growth, supporting the bullish case that cloud investments are beginning to generate substantial returns. Amazon’s AI Business Passed a $25 Billion Run Rate
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon is extending its infrastructure lead. The company increased its planned northwest Louisiana data-center investment by 50% to approximately $18 billion, including funding for power, transmission and water infrastructure. The move signals confidence in sustained AWS demand and helps secure scarce electricity capacity for future AI workloads. Amazon Plugs $18B Into the Southern Power Grid
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst expectations remain favorable. The average Wall Street price target implies roughly 25.6% potential upside, while positive earnings-estimate revisions reflect optimism about AWS growth, AI monetization and retail momentum. Wall Street Analysts Think Amazon Could Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Tariff refunds may boost profitability, but customer benefits are unclear. Amazon is among the companies expected to benefit most from refunds following the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling. However, it has not committed to passing the savings on to shoppers, leaving the impact on demand and public perception uncertain. Fortune 500 companies got billions in tariff refunds
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy AI spending and competition remain risks. The Louisiana project and broader data-center buildout could pressure free cash flow and margins through higher depreciation, while Microsoft, Google, Nvidia-backed providers and specialized rivals may limit AWS returns on investment. Amazon Sees Bigger AWS Growth, but Rising Competition Could Pressure Returns

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AMZN shares. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $332.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective (up from $315.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Maxim Group increased their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target (up from $330.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $390.00 target price (up from $280.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-six have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.56.

Amazon.com Stock Up 2.5%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $248.53 and its 200-day moving average is $238.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $2.87 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.45.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $3.93. The company had revenue of $200.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.03 billion. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 17.44%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.68 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.39, for a total transaction of $278,390.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483,527 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,609,081.53. The trade was a 0.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 15,467 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.40, for a total value of $4,074,007.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,729,480.60. The trade was a 52.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 62,650 shares of company stock valued at $16,535,457 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amazon.com

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMZN. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Amazon.com by 7.5% during the first quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 73,085 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $15,221,000 after purchasing an additional 5,125 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. lifted its position in Amazon.com by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 303,862 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $63,285,000 after buying an additional 5,104 shares in the last quarter. Narwhal Capital Management boosted its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 216,606 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $49,997,000 after buying an additional 4,854 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 24,653,228 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $5,690,463,000 after acquiring an additional 4,275,942 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Weaver Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Amazon.com by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Weaver Capital Management LLC now owns 39,264 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $9,063,000 after acquiring an additional 4,713 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc is a diversified technology and retail company best known for its e-commerce marketplace and broad portfolio of consumer and enterprise services. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company launched as an online bookseller and expanded into a global retail platform that sells products directly to consumers and provides a marketplace for third-party sellers. Over time Amazon has grown beyond retail into areas including cloud computing, digital media, devices and logistics.

Key businesses and offerings include Amazon’s online marketplace and fulfillment services, the Amazon Prime membership program (which bundles expedited shipping with streaming and other benefits), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which supplies on-demand cloud computing and storage to businesses and public-sector customers, and a range of content and advertising services such as Prime Video and Amazon Advertising.