The EU filed charges against Amazon regarding the company's treatment of third-party sellers
The European Union (EU) is filing formal antitrust charges against Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) alleging the e-commerce giant used data from third-party sellers to launch competing private-labels, according to Wall Street Journal sources. According to another report, if AMZN is found guilty, it could be fined as much as 10% of its annual revenue. Despite the news, Amazon stock is up 0.3% to trade at $2,655.38, looking to nab its fifth-straight win.
Amazon.com stock made headlines yesterday after it notched a second consecutive all-time high close of $2,671.38, and is up 64% from its mid-March annual low of $1,626.35. In addition to sitting well above every conceivable moving average, Amazon stock boasts a year-to-date gain of 43.3% with a large chunk -- nearly 37% -- of that coming during this last quarter when the company capitalized on a market largely dependent on online sales due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It's no surprise that most analysts are on the bullish bandwagon. Of the 33 in coverage, 29 sport an enthusiastic "strong buy," while three more simply say "buy." No "sell" ratings are in sight as one lone wolf says now is the time to "hold."
In the options pits, Amazon stock's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.55 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX) ranks in the elevated 89th percentile over the last 12 months. This means there is a healthier-than-usual appetite for long calls of late.
The good news for those options traders is that the stock’s Schaeffer’s Volatility Index (SVI) of 31% sits in the 25th percentile of all other readings from the past year. This means options players are pricing in relatively low volatility expectations at the moment, a boon for premium buyers.