Amazon Jumps to Record After Blowout Results, Strong Outlook
(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc. rallied to a record intraday high Friday after reporting quarterly results that topped analyst projections and later closed in the red amid a broader market selloff.
Its shares rose as much as 2.4% to touch $3,554, taking out a previous record that was set in September as the e-commerce company said online shopping will remain high in the aftermath of the pandemic. They ended the day 0.1% lower at $3,467.42 as stocks sank amid hawkish remarks from a Federal Reserve official and economic data that signaled inflationary pressures. The The Nasdaq 100 Index posted its biggest drop in a week.
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Positive Earnings
Amazon’s first-quarter revenue jumped 44% to $108.5 billion and earnings were a record $15.79 a share, blowing past Wall Street analysts’ expectations. It also provided a second-quarter sales forecast that were stronger than projections.
Analysts were widely positive on Amazon’s results, with several boosting their share-price targets and calling for strong long-term growth ahead.
Read more: Amazon Analysts Unanimous in Praise of Results: Street Wrap
“Business trends remain strong and should continue to do so throughout 2021,” wrote Susquehanna Financial Group, which raised its price target to a Street-high view of $5,500. While earnings for the three months ended March 31 were remarkable, its second-quarter’s outlook is “even more impressive.” In the longer run, Amazon will continue to grow given the strength of its major business units, the research firm added.
Amazon is now up 6.5% this year, while the Nasdaq 100 Index gained 7.6% and the S&P 500 Index climbed 11%. The tech giant was the last of the major U.S. tech stocks to hit a record in 2021. It has 53 buy recommendations, one hold and no sell ratings, and analyst are still expecting another 21% surge in its share price over the next 12 months, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
All megatech companies have now reported quarterly results with Apple Inc., Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc. also beating analyst expectations.
(Updates share price moves throughout.)
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