UBS Group Cuts Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Price Target to $253.00

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) had its target price lowered by UBS Group from $272.00 to $253.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the e-commerce giant’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Citizens Jmp reduced their target price on Amazon.com from $285.00 to $240.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th. JMP Securities lowered their target price on shares of Amazon.com from $285.00 to $240.00 and set a “market outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $275.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Amazon.com from $280.00 to $245.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and forty-five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $246.50.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

AMZN stock opened at $187.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $192.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $207.90. Amazon.com has a 12 month low of $151.61 and a 12 month high of $242.52. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 anticipate that Amazon.com will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Amazon.com news, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 20,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.65, for a total value of $4,585,989.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,118,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $467,532,195.90. This represents a 0.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $187.99, for a total value of $469,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 509,474 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,776,017.26. This trade represents a 0.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 104,798 shares of company stock valued at $23,341,803. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amazon.com

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AMZN. Swedbank AB increased its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 1.4% in the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 13,335,826 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $2,484,864,000 after acquiring an additional 183,610 shares in the last quarter. Sassicaia Capital Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Amazon.com during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $279,000. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its stake in Amazon.com by 0.3% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 356,539 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $66,434,000 after buying an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 5.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 20,166,314 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $3,757,589,000 after acquiring an additional 984,570 shares during the period. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Amazon.com by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. now owns 22,296 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $4,154,000 after acquiring an additional 2,022 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.