Amazon stock sports more than 90% "buy" ratings from analysts
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is back in the headlines after receiving a price-target increase to $1,385 from $1,375 at J.P. Morgan Securities. In a note to clients, the brokerage firm cited expectations for margin growth in 2018, and high hopes for the company's web services unit. Echoing a similarly upbeat note from Morgan Stanley last November, J.P. Morgan said AMZN has the potential to be a $1 trillion company.
Separately, the FAANG stock on Tuesday landed a price-target hike to $1,400 from $1,200 at Piper Jaffray, which -- like J.P. Morgan -- backed its "overweight" rating on the shares. Of the 37 brokerage firms following AMZN, no fewer than 34 call the stock a "buy" or "strong buy."
Despite today's pair of bullish analyst notes, Amazon stock has been trading lower all morning, following suit with a broader downside bias. At last check, AMZN was off 0.6% at $1,245.21 -- but on a year-to-date basis, the equity has already rallied about 6.5%, and just yesterday, the shares set a fresh record high of $1,259.33.
And while contrarians may be concerned that AMZN is trading lower today despite some upbeat analyst attention, it's worth noting that -- in addition to the broad-based concerns impacting today's market action -- the stock itself may have been due for a breather anyway.
Specifically, AMZN notched six straight days of gains through Tuesday's close, marking its longest daily win streak in about eight months. As a result, its 14-day Relative Strength Index (RSI) stood at 75 as of last night, indicating a short-term overbought condition that may need to be worked off before the next leg higher begins.