E-commerce giant Amazon (AMZN) is investors best bet for the year-end holidays, says a top analyst at JPMorgan Chase (JPM).
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Doug Anmuth, a five-star rated analyst at TipRanks, says to expect online holiday sales growth of 7.5% year-over-year during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend in the U.S., which includes the Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping extravaganzas.
While sales this year are likely to be down from the 10% year-over-year growth seen in 2023, online shopping is nevertheless expected to be strong this holiday season. And one of the top beneficiaries of those online sales will be Amazon.
Best Internet Stock
In a research note, Anmuth at JPMorgan says that third party estimates suggest e-commerce growth of 7% to 10% for the entire year-end holiday season that runs from now through New Year’s Day on January 1. Anmuth adds that Amazon remains the best idea among internet stocks as the year draws to a close.
In October, Amazon announced plans to hire 250,000 seasonal workers for the year-end holidays. The company has said that it expects online holiday shopping to grow 5% from last year and hit a record $240 billion. Amazon began running holiday promotions and discounts earlier than ever this autumn.
Looking beyond the holidays, Anmuth says that e-commerce sales as a share of total retail sales in the U.S. could nearly double from 22% today to 40% over the long-term, with Amazon a clear winner of that trend. AMZN stock has risen 36% so far in 2024.
Is AMZN Stock a Buy?
Amazon stock has a consensus Strong Buy rating among 46 Wall Street analysts. That rating is based on 45 Buy and one Hold recommendations issued in the last three months. There are no Sell ratings on the stock. The average AMZN price target of $239 implies 16% upside from current levels.
