Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Trading Down 8.7% on Insider Selling

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)’s stock price traded down 8.7% during trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $176.92 and last traded at $178.92. 42,136,022 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 5% from the average session volume of 40,083,354 shares. The stock had previously closed at $196.01.

Specifically, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.99, for a total transaction of $469,975.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 509,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,776,017.26. This represents a 0.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AMZN. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (up from $225.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $260.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $225.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price target on Amazon.com from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $260.53.

Amazon.com Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $212.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $208.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.81 trillion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.39.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.34. Amazon.com had a net margin of 9.29% and a return on equity of 24.25%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sage Capital Advisors llc grew its position in shares of Amazon.com by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 73,849 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $14,051,000 after buying an additional 2,386 shares in the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Amazon.com by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 103,818 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $19,752,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC increased its position in Amazon.com by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 7,305 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $1,390,000 after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Baring Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Baring Financial LLC now owns 4,554 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 67.5% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 20,599 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $3,919,000 after purchasing an additional 8,298 shares during the period. 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.