Similarly to its tech peers, shares of the e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) have witnessed a recovery and gained over 38% year-to-date. Despite this considerable appreciation in value, Jefferies analyst Brent Thill sees further upside and expects AMZN stock to reach $135 (indicating 16.13% upside potential). Thill is bullish about Amazon’s prospects.
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In a note to investors dated May 18, Thill wrote that he is upbeat on AMZN and expects the company’s high-margin cloud (or AWS) business to rebound later this year or in the first half of 2024. Furthermore, Thill believes that AMZN’s supply-chain expenses will likely moderate and support profitability in the coming quarters.
In addition, the analyst expects AMZN’s ad business to register strong growth, given its leadership in e-commerce advertising. Thill said that advertising investment is migrating away from other major retailers and towards Amazon as corporate budgets tighten.
It’s worth highlighting that the pressure on consumer and enterprise spending amid macro uncertainty and high inflation has slowed AMZN’s growth.
Nonetheless, growth in its AWS business is likely to accelerate as enterprises migrate to the cloud. Further, its advertising services are witnessing strong engagement, with revenues increasing by 23% in the first quarter.
Also, AMZN is focusing on improving productivity in its fulfillment network and has implemented structural changes to make its U.S. fulfillment network more regionalized. The move is likely to enhance its delivery speed and improve its costs over time. A fast delivery and a focus on reducing the last-mile delivery charges could help drive customer loyalty and support AMZN’s margins in the long term.
What’s the Prediction for AMZN Stock?
The easing of inflationary pressure on margins and its leadership in the cloud and e-commerce businesses position AMZN well to deliver solid financials in the long term.
AMZN stock sports a Strong Buy consensus rating. It has received 35 Buy and one Hold recommendations. Meanwhile, analysts’ average price target of $134.24 implies 15.48% upside potential from current levels.
While analysts are bullish, hedge funds sold 10M shares of AMZN last quarter. Nonetheless, it carries an Outperform Smart Score of eight on TipRanks.
