Amazon Stock Price Today Is Near Record Highs and Headed Higher

Amazon stock newsThe Amazon stock price today is trading near record highs. AMZN stock has climbed 22.6% year to date and 50% in the last 12 months.

And we think AMZN stock is heading even higher in the long term...

Late last month, the Amazon.com Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN) stock price pushed through the $800 mark for the first time. Right now, the Amazon stock price today trades at $824, just shy of its all-time high of $847.12.

Because AMZN is near its peak, many investors think they've already missed out on the stock's gains. But we remain bullish on the Amazon stock price today and consider Amazon one of the best long-term investments in the tech field.

And now a number of analysts have recently raised their AMZN price targets, which only strengthens our long-held position on the stock.

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Here are a few of the Amazon stock price upgrades over the last couple of weeks.

  • SunTrust raised its AMZN price target to $850 to $800. SunTrust said AMZN continues to benefit from its Prime membership along with growth in its web services division.
  • Morgan Stanley hiked its Amazon stock price target to $950 from $800. The investment bank estimates more than 35% of U.S. households use Amazon's Prime membership service, but that number continues to grow steadily.
  • Maxim Group boosted its AMZN price target to $940 from $825. The firm believes Amazon will only continue to disrupt the tech and retail sectors.
  • Cantor Fitzgerald raised its AMZN price target Wednesday to $1,000, a 20% upside from current levels. The firm noted the e-commerce market continues to grow, AMZN Prime continues to add value, and strong holiday sales are expected this season. Additionally, Amazon's AWS cloud unit is so profitable that it allows Amazon to invest in other areas.

Here's our long-term outlook for Amazon and why the gains in the Amazon stock price today are just the start...

Amazon Stock Price Today Is Climbing and Will Head Higher

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One reason we remain bullish on Amazon is the company's continued move into the grocery business with convenience stores and curbside pickup.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday the Seattle-based company plans to build small physical stores that will sell perishable groceries. And using mobile phones or touch screens around the store, customers could also order pantry staples with a longer shelf life, like peanut butter and cereal, for same-day delivery.

To accommodate customers who want a faster checkout, Amazon also plans to create drive-thru locations. The company is even creating license plate reading technology to speed up wait times, according to The Journal's report.

In the near term, the 2016 holiday shopping season will be a key catalyst for the Amazon stock price.

Last week, the National Retail Federation said it expects sales in November and December to increase 3.6% to $655.8 billion. That's significantly higher than the 10-year average of 2.5%. It's also above the seven-year average of 3.4% since the economic recovery began in 2009.

Additionally, NRF is forecasting non-store sales to increase between 7% and 10% to as much as $117 billion.

NRF forecasts seasonal employment to grow between 640,000 and 690,000. AMZN is increasing its seasonal hiring by 20% to 120,000 workers.

Amazon reports Q3 2016 results on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Wall Street is expecting earnings per share of $0.78, up from $0.76 one month ago.

Of the 45 analysts who cover Amazon stock, 34 have a "Buy" rating, six maintain an "Overweight," and five rate shares "Hold." None rate Amazon stock as a "Sell."

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