Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has long been known as a do-almost-anything sort of operation. With its retail arm now selling just about anything legal you could imagine, it wasn’t all that surprising it would branch out from there. And it’s made an interesting new move into robotics that’s hard to ignore. Investors, however, weren’t impressed, as Amazon shares were down nearly 2% in Wednesday afternoon’s trading.
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Amazon’s Astro robot was something of an oddity when it first emerged two years ago. It was a $1,600 little robot that could roam about and keep an eye on people’s houses while they were out, going from room to room and transmitting video back. Certainly, it was a clever device, even if some weren’t that enamored with Amazon having mobile eyes in the house along with Alexa potentially listening in. But Amazon staged a slight pivot and gave Astro a new imperative: an all-night security bot.
Astro Monitors Its Surroundings
Dubbed Astro for Business, the Astro can now function as a security guard, though the price tag is higher for the business-focused item at $2,349.99. It works in spaces up to 5,000 square feet, and offers intelligent motion features that better allow it to work in spaces where cameras don’t work nearly as well. Add-on features also come with the device, though for extra fees, including the Ring Protect Pro system. That allows Astro to connect to Ring sensors and other devices. It can even call for help in some situations, like if it spots smoke or hears glass breaking.
Is Amazon a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on AMZN stock based on 40 Buys assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 47.21% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AMZN price target of $175.51 per share implies 22.76% upside potential.
