Smith Salley Wealth Management Grows Holdings in Amazon.com, Inc. $AMZN

Smith Salley Wealth Management increased its stake in Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 274,797 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock after buying an additional 11,410 shares during the quarter. Amazon.com comprises approximately 3.1% of Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Smith Salley Wealth Management’s holdings in Amazon.com were worth $60,337,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AMZN. Carderock Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Amazon.com by 81.9% in the second quarter. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 211 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Ryan Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Amazon.com in the second quarter worth about $48,000. Cooksen Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of 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, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Amazon.com during the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. 72.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amazon.com Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ AMZN opened at $247.38 on Friday. Amazon.com, Inc. has a one year low of $161.38 and a one year high of $258.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.64 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $233.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $227.73.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $1.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by $0.38. The firm had revenue of $180.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $177.53 billion. Amazon.com had a net margin of 11.06% and a return on equity of 23.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.43 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Amazon.com in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. CIBC lifted their target price on Amazon.com to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Amazon.com from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 18th. Guggenheim raised shares of Amazon.com to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on shares of Amazon.com in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifty-six have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.23.

Amazon.com News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Amazon is preparing a Walmart‑style, 225,000 sq. ft. “big‑box” store near Chicago that would combine in‑person retail with e‑commerce fulfillment—an execution play that could broaden margins and omnichannel reach. Amazon’s latest store concept is a Walmart-style supercenter
• Positive Sentiment: Amazon Pharmacy added Novo Nordisk’s oral Wegovy pill (insurance and cash options), expanding pharmacy revenue and recurring prescription flows—a near‑term revenue and margin catalyst for the pharmacy business. Amazon Pharmacy starts offering Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy weight-loss pill
• Positive Sentiment: AWS momentum is reviving the AI narrative—analysts point to accelerating AWS revenue, a large backlog and stronger AI demand that could drive margin expansion and re‑rate the stock. Will Accelerating AWS Revenue Growth Drive AMZN Stock’s 2026 Rally?
• Positive Sentiment: Broad analyst support and higher price targets (multiple firms reiterating Outperform/Buy and lifting targets) are underpinning investor sentiment ahead of earnings. Amazon Starts 2026 Strong—What It Could Mean for the Year
• Neutral Sentiment: Television and media bullishness: high‑profile investors/commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) are publicly optimistic about AMZN’s upside in 2026—supports momentum but is sentiment‑driven. Jim Cramer Says He Is “Looking for Amazon to Put Up Much Bigger Gains in 2026”
• Neutral Sentiment: Regulatory tail risk eased somewhat after reports the EU digital rule overhaul will not impose the strictest new measures on big tech—reduces a headline regulatory overhang. Big Tech spared strict rules in EU digital rule overhaul
• Negative Sentiment: Market noise from reports that Amazon may announce layoffs has pressured the stock at times; a formal announcement would be a near‑term negative catalyst despite potential cost savings. Amazon Stock (AMZN) Slips on Layoff Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling headlines and scrutiny of employee productivity/RTO initiatives may create perception issues; heavy insider sales can be viewed unfavorably by some investors. Amazon Stock (AMZN) Opinions on AWS Growth and AI Investments (insider selling summary)
• Negative Sentiment: Merchant complaints about an Amazon AI tool creating orders without sellers’ knowledge surfaced—possible reputational/operational risk if not addressed. Amazon AI tool blindsides merchants by offering products without their knowledge

Insider Buying and Selling at Amazon.com

In other news, CEO Matthew S. Garman sold 17,768 shares of Amazon.com stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.90, for a total value of $3,853,879.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 6,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,360,613.70. This trade represents a 73.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Andrew R. Jassy sold 19,872 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.94, for a total value of $4,311,031.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,208,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $479,070,771.40. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 79,734 shares of company stock worth $18,534,017. 9.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Amazon.com

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.