Vanderbilt University Cuts Stake in Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Vanderbilt University reduced its position in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,674 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after selling 3,512 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com accounts for approximately 1.0% of Vanderbilt University’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Vanderbilt University’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $5,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMZN. Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Amazon.com by 113.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 113 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 2,330.0% during the third quarter. Bridge Generations Wealth Management LLC now owns 243 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Cooksen Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Amazon.com by 23.5% during the second quarter. Cooksen Wealth LLC now owns 247 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, PayPay Securities Corp raised its stake in Amazon.com by 62.3% in the third quarter. PayPay Securities Corp now owns 250 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amazon.com News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Amazon.com this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large Anthropic expansion — Amazon said it will invest up to $25 billion in Anthropic while Anthropic committed to spend $100B+ on AWS over the next decade and secure Trainium capacity. That locks long-term, high-margin cloud demand and boosts AWS revenue visibility. Amazon to invest up to $25 billion in Anthropic – CNBC
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst upgrades and higher targets — Multiple firms (KeyBanc, Bank of America and others) have raised AMZN price targets and reiterated buy/overweight ratings, citing AWS re-acceleration and Anthropic/OpenAI-driven AI demand as near-term catalysts. Analyst momentum supports upside expectations into earnings. Amazon Gets a Double Upgrade From BofA and KeyBanc – 247WallSt
• Positive Sentiment: Institutional buying signal — ARK Invest (Cathie Wood) added nearly $900K of AMZN ahead of earnings, a bullish vote from a high-profile growth investor that can attract momentum flows. Cathie Wood Adds Nearly $900K of Amazon Stock – TipRanks
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings and guidance focus — Analysts expect a solid Q1 top line (AWS + retail strength) but are watching margins and capex; results on April 29 will likely drive the next leg of the move. Earnings Preview: What To Expect From Amazon.com’s Report – Barchart
• Neutral Sentiment: New product / infrastructure initiatives — AWS product launches (e.g., Amazon Bio Discovery), robotics and Project Leo/Globalstar moves expand addressable markets but also require investment; strategic long-term positives with nearer-term execution risk. AWS Launches Amazon Bio Discovery – PYMNTS
• Negative Sentiment: Antitrust/legal overhang — California’s attorney general filed unredacted documents alleging Amazon pressured vendors to raise competitor prices; this intensifies regulatory risk and could lead to fines or injunctive relief that would weigh on sentiment. California says Amazon collusion drove up consumer prices – Reuters
• Negative Sentiment: Margin and capex concerns — Some strategists warn the Anthropic/OpenAI deals and heavy AI-related capex could pressure near-term margins; a few firms trimmed targets on capex peaking and margin risk. Those cautions cap upside until earnings/guidance offer clarity. Amazon Price Target Lowered As CapEx Expected To Peak – Yahoo Finance

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on AMZN. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $310.00 target price (up from $304.00) on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Bank of America boosted their price target on Amazon.com from $275.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research cut Amazon.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Daiwa Securities Group dropped their price objective on Amazon.com from $300.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Maxim Group lifted their target price on Amazon.com from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-four have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Shelley Reynolds sold 2,695 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.90, for a total value of $554,900.50. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 119,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,662,702. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 10,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.43, for a total value of $2,187,624.07. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 41,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,461,661.70. This trade represents a 20.54% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 93,186 shares of company stock valued at $19,921,739. 10.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Amazon.com Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:AMZN opened at $248.28 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $2.67 trillion, a PE ratio of 34.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.38. Amazon.com, Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.29 and a twelve month high of $258.60. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The company’s 50 day moving average is $214.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.33.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.97 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $213.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $211.02 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 10.83% and a return on equity of 21.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.86 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 7.76 EPS for the current year.

Amazon.com Profile

Amazon.com, Inc is a diversified technology and retail company best known for its e-commerce marketplace and broad portfolio of consumer and enterprise services. Founded by Jeff Bezos in 1994 and headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the company launched as an online bookseller and expanded into a global retail platform that sells products directly to consumers and provides a marketplace for third-party sellers. Over time Amazon has grown beyond retail into areas including cloud computing, digital media, devices and logistics.

Key businesses and offerings include Amazon’s online marketplace and fulfillment services, the Amazon Prime membership program (which bundles expedited shipping with streaming and other benefits), Amazon Web Services (AWS) which supplies on-demand cloud computing and storage to businesses and public-sector customers, and a range of content and advertising services such as Prime Video and Amazon Advertising.