Stock Traders Buy Large Volume of Call Options on Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 673,911 call options on the stock. Thisisanincreaseof9% compared to the average volume of 619,655 call options.

Amazon.com Stock Down 8.3%

Shares of AMZN opened at $214.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The business has a fifty day moving average of $218.20 and a 200 day moving average of $209.21. The company has a market cap of $2.28 trillion, a PE ratio of 32.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.31. Amazon.com has a 52-week low of $151.61 and a 52-week high of $242.52.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The e-commerce giant reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.37. Amazon.com had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 24.90%. The firm had revenue of $167.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $161.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.26 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Amazon.com will post 6.31 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Amazon.com from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $288.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Monness Crespi & Hardt lifted their price objective on shares of Amazon.com from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, forty-six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $260.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Amazon.com news, insider Jeffrey P. Bezos sold 2,643,142 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.43, for a total transaction of $609,059,211.06. Following the sale, the insider owned 883,779,901 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $203,649,402,587.43. The trade was a 0.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 25,099,537 shares of company stock worth $5,674,394,548 over the last quarter. 9.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Amazon.com

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Amazon.com during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Amazon.com in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. LSV Asset Management bought a new position in Amazon.com in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Cooksen Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. 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.