Maxim Group Begins Coverage on Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Maxim Group initiated coverage on shares of Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $218.00 price objective on the e-commerce giant’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on AMZN. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $195.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Moffett Nathanson reaffirmed a buy rating and set a $228.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. They issued an outperform rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James raised their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Amazon.com presently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $202.80.

Amazon.com Stock Down 2.6 %

Shares of Amazon.com stock opened at $174.63 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $177.28 and its 200 day moving average is $156.83. Amazon.com has a one year low of $101.15 and a one year high of $189.77. The firm has a market cap of $1.82 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 60.22, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.19. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 16.61% and a net margin of 5.29%. The firm had revenue of $169.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $165.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.21 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Amazon.com will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other news, CEO Adam Selipsky sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total value of $92,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 131,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,214,400. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Adam Selipsky sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $184.00, for a total transaction of $92,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 131,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,214,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 3,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.97, for a total transaction of $523,807.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 119,780 shares in the company, valued at $20,239,226.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,213,510 shares of company stock valued at $5,505,798,456 in the last quarter. 12.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amazon.com

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Amazon.com by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 704,441 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $126,747,000 after acquiring an additional 4,195 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 2.1% during the first quarter. Cohen Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,207 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $6,351,000 after purchasing an additional 728 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 145.9% during the first quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 16,994 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 10,082 shares in the last quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Amazon.com by 7.7% in the first quarter. Mezzasalma Advisors LLC now owns 53,452 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $9,642,000 after purchasing an additional 3,842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Amazon.com by 68.0% in the first quarter. FORVIS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 60,901 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $10,985,000 after purchasing an additional 24,644 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.20% of the company’s stock.

Amazon.com Company Profile

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.