Amazon.com stock is propping up the Nasdaq today
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) stock is up 7.8% to trade at $128.91 at last check, on track for its biggest single-session pop since its last earnings report on Aug. 4. The Big Tech giant is propping up the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite (IXIC), after the e-commerce concern reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings and revenue, the latter of which rose 13%. The company’s cloud business was strong as well, as ramps up artificial intelligence (AI) competition with Microsoft (MSFT).
In response, at least 11 analysts hiked their AMZN price targets, the highest coming from MoffettNathanson to $213 from $189. That’s notable because the brokerage bunch is already overwhelmingly bullish, with 40 of the 41 firms in question carrying a “buy” or better rating, while the 12-month consensus target price of $171.70 is already a 33.6% premium to current levels.
Options volume is already running at five times the intraday average amount, with 547,000 calls and 303,000 puts exchanged so far. Most popular is the weekly 10/27 130-strike call, with new positions being bought to open, indicating these traders expect more upside for AMZN before today’s close.
Despite today’s pop, the shares have yet to conquer their 50-day moving average, which has been enacting pressure since a mid-September bear gap from 52-week highs. Yesterday, AMZN clocked its lowest close since May, but support stepped up at its 200-day trendline and the stock still boasts a 53% year-to-date lead.