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Shares of Amazon.com Inc. climbed back into positive territory for the week on Thursday, putting them on track to end the year with a record-tying weekly winning streak.
After inching 0.03% lower over the past three sessions, the e-commerce and cloud giant’s stock
AMZN,
rose 0.24% in morning trading Friday and was up 0.22% this week.
If the stock can hold its gains through the close, it would be up for 10 straight weeks. That would tie the current record 10-week streak that lasted through the week ending July 10, 2020, in the midst of the pandemic-induced e-commerce boom.
The stock has run up 22.8% during its current 10-week streak, compared with the 40% rally during the 2020 streak.
So far this year, Amazon’s stock has soared 83%, which would be its best yearly performance since it rocketed 118% in 2015 and the sixth-best yearly gain since the company went public in May 1997. The record yearly rally was a whopping 966% in 1998.
Also read: ‘Magnificent Seven’ up for another bull run? What to expect from technology stocks in 2024
The stock suffered a brief dip this year from mid-September through late October on speculation that regulators would push break up Amazon amid complaints that it was illegally maintaining monopoly power.
But it didn’t take long for investors to realize that a breakup would actually be good for the stock. Many feel the company’s parts would be worth more individually than they currently are combined, and in a breakup, investors would be paid out the difference.
Meanwhile, the stock was trading about 17.6% below its record close of $186.57, reached on July 8, 2021.
Don’t miss: Amazon’s and Google’s stock could be a ‘win-win’ even if both companies face government-ordered breakups
Amazon is one of the so-called Magnificent Seven — the companies that have the largest market capitalizations in the S&P 500
SPX
and that were responsible for more than half of the broad-market barometer’s 24.6% rally this year.
Of the group, Amazon’s stock was only the median gainer this year, while Nvidia Corp.’s stock
NVDA,
was first at 241.1% and Apple Inc. shares
AAPL,
were seventh with a 48.8% increase.
Of the seven stocks, Amazon’s has the highest percentage of analysts who recommend investors buy at current levels.
Of the 58 analysts surveyed by FactSet who cover Amazon, 57, or 98%, are bullish and one is neutral. The average 12-month price target on the stock is $179.20, which implies about 16.5% upside from current levels.
Here are the percentages of bulls for the rest of the Magnificent Seven:
- Of the 52 analysts who cover Nvidia, 48, or 94%, are bullish and the other four are neutral.
-
Of the 53 analysts who cover Microsoft Corp.
MSFT,
+0.39% ,
48, or 91%, are bullish on the stock, while the rest are neutral. -
Of the 62 analysts covering Meta Platforms Inc.
META,
-0.57% ,
52, or 84%, recommend buying the stock, while eight are neutral and two are bearish. -
Of the 58 analysts covering Google parent Alphabet Inc.
GOOGL,
-0.33% GOOG,
-0.31% ,
48, or 83%, are bullish, while the rest are neutral. - Of the 44 analysts covering Apple, 27, or 61%, recommend buying, 14 are neutral and three recommend selling.
-
Only 43% of analysts who cover Tesla Inc.
TSLA,
-0.85%
— 21 of 49 — are bullish on the stock, while 21 are neutral and seven are bearish.
Wedbush analysts said in a recent note to clients that of the internet stocks they cover, they believe Amazon’s has the most potential upside.
They named Amazon’s stock a “top pick” in 2024. In addition to the ongoing growth of e-commerce, the Wedbush analysts said Amazon, which they describe as the largest retail media network in the world outside of China, will benefit from rapid growth of digital advertising and Prime Video monetization.
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