JMP Securities Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Stock Price

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) had its price target lowered by JMP Securities from $285.00 to $240.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market outperform rating on the e-commerce giant's stock.

AMZN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Amazon.com from $230.00 to $280.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $275.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $230.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Maxim Group boosted their price target on Amazon.com from $260.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.73.

Amazon.com Price Performance

AMZN stock traded down $1.82 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $172.51. 44,456,290 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,741,255. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Amazon.com has a one year low of $151.61 and a one year high of $242.52. The company has a market cap of $1.83 trillion, a P/E ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.39. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $199.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.97.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that Amazon.com will post 6.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Amazon.com

In other Amazon.com news, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 8,833 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.47, for a total transaction of $1,965,077.51. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 119,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,647,456.60. This represents a 6.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 27,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.27, for a total value of $6,332,425.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 497,067 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $114,459,618.09. The trade was a 5.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 104,798 shares of company stock worth $23,341,803. Company insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in AMZN. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Amazon.com during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Accordant Advisory Group Inc grew its stake in Amazon.com by 400.0% in the 4th quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 125 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Perritt Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 72.7% in the fourth quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 190 shares of the e-commerce giant's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Compass Planning Associates Inc purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. 72.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.