Technology

What Analysts Are Saying After Amazon Hit an All-Time High

Chris Lange

Published: April 29, 2017 9:25 am

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 12:30 pm

Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) had an absolutely spectacular quarter to kick off 2017. Investors and analysts alike were very pleased and sent shares even higher. In fact, shares hit an all-time high in the wake of this report. Across the board, analysts hiked their price targets on the stock.

24/7 Wall St. has included a few highlights from the earnings report, as well as what a horde of analysts are saying after the fact.

The e-commerce giant posted $1.48 in earnings per share (EPS) and $35.7 billion in revenue, versus consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters that called for $1.13 in EPS and revenue of $35.31 billion. In the first-quarter of last year, Amazon posted EPS of $1.07 and $29.13 billion in revenue.

One huge factor in this report was the Amazon Web Services (AWS) segment, which deals with Amazon’s cloud empire. This segment has been making incredible gains and it doesn’t seem like this will stop anytime soon. Not to mention this is a huge contributor to the bottom line.

AWS revenues and net income continued to grow at a spectacular rate. This segment posted $3.66 billion in revenue, with $890 million in net income. The same period of last year only had $2.57 billion in revenue and $604 million in net income.

In terms of the outlook for the second quarter, the company expects to see net sales in the range of $35.25 billion to $37.75 billion. Also operating income is expected to be between $425 million and $1.075 billion. The consensus estimates are $1.88 in EPS and $36.84 billion in revenue for the current quarter.

After earnings were released analysts piled into the stock:

• Credit Suisse reiterated an Outperform rating and raised its price target to $1,100 from $1,050.
• Citigroup reiterated a Buy rating and raised its price target to $1,060 from $960.
• BMO Capital Markets reiterated an Outperform rating with a $1,200 price target.
• Barclays reiterated an Overweight rating with a $1,120 price target.
• JPMorgan reiterated a Buy rating.
• JMP Securities reiterated a Buy rating.
• Macquarie reiterated a Buy rating.
• Canacorrd Genuity reiterated a Buy rating and raised its target to $1,150 from $900.
• Aegis reiterated a Buy rating and raised its price target from $953 to $1,069.
• Deutsche Bank reiterated a Buy rating and raised its target to $1,125 from $1,050.
• Jefferies reiterated a Buy rating with a $1,150 price target.
• Needham reiterated a Buy rating and raised its price target to $1,100 from $1,150.
• Maxim has a Buy rating and raised its price target from $1,000 to $1,075.
• Pacific Crest downgraded to a Sector Weight rating with a $961 price target.
• Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated a Buy rating with a $970 price target.

Shares of Amazon closed out the week at $924.99, with a consensus analyst price target of $996.82 and a 52-week trading range of $654.00 to $949.50.