Equity Management

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 74,580,000 shares, a growth of 10.2%…

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Feb 3, 2023 • 5 min read

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 74,580,000 shares, an increase of 10.2% from the November 30th total of 67,680,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 79,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Insider Activity at Amazon.com

In related news, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.00, for a total value of $329,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 119,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,259,320. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Amazon.com news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 7,456 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.00, for a total transaction of $700,864.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 533,435 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,142,890. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.00, for a total transaction of $329,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 119,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,259,320. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 302,948 shares of company stock worth $11,038,422 in the last quarter. 12.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. TD Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Amazon.com by 6.3% in the first quarter. TD Capital Management LLC now owns 84 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in Amazon.com by 3.4% in the first quarter. Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 151 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $492,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Alterna Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Amazon.com by 1.8% in the first quarter. Alterna Wealth Management Inc. now owns 289 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $942,000 after acquiring an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Planning LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.5% during the first quarter. Fiduciary Planning LLC now owns 349 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HBC Financial Services PLLC increased its position in shares of Amazon.com by 0.8% during the first quarter. HBC Financial Services PLLC now owns 616 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $1,717,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares in the last quarter. 57.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amazon.com Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of AMZN stock opened at $84.00 on Monday. Amazon.com has a fifty-two week low of $81.69 and a fifty-two week high of $171.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $93.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $112.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $856.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.05 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 27th. The e-commerce giant reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.02). Amazon.com had a return on equity of 14.44% and a net margin of 2.25%. The company had revenue of $127.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $127.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.31 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Amazon.com will post 0.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on Amazon.com from $118.00 to $103.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $165.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 28th. Moffett Nathanson initiated coverage on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Tuesday, November 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $118.00 price objective for the company. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $150.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 28th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $200.00 to $140.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and forty-one have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $148.65.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc engages in the retail sale of consumer products and subscriptions in North America and internationally. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). It sells merchandise and content purchased for resale from third-party sellers through physical and online stores.