Amazon (AMZN) founder Jeff Bezos has once again reduced his stake in the e-commerce giant. According to a regulatory filing, Bezos sold over $3 billion worth of Amazon shares, bringing his total sale amount for the year to over $13 billion.
While the exact reasons for Bezos’ stock sales are unclear, investors should know that he often uses this money to fund his ventures. These include his space exploration company, Blue Origin, and the $2 billion Bezos Day One Fund, which supports homeless families and early childhood education.
It is worth highlighting that despite these significant stock sales, Bezos remains a major shareholder in Amazon, holding about 10.8% of the company’s shares. While he stepped down as CEO in 2021, he continues to serve as the company’s chairman.
Amazon’s Strong Q3 Performance Boosts Bezos’ Net Worth
Bezos’ latest sale transaction, involving more than 16 million shares, came after Amazon’s stock price surged over 6% and hit the $200 mark on Friday’s trading session. Importantly, the stock price rally was driven by the company’s third-quarter results, which exceeded analysts’ expectations. AMZN’s Q3 performance was aided by strong growth in its cloud computing and advertising businesses.
Following AMZN’s stock price jump, Bezos’ net worth increased by $42.8 billion year-over-year, placing him as the second-richest person globally, with a net worth of $220 billion. Bezos now trails only Tesla’s (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk and surpasses Meta’s (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Is AMZN a Good Stock to Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, AMZN stock has a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 45 Buys and one Hold assigned in the last three months. At $235.62, the average Amazon price target implies a 19.04% upside potential. Shares of the company have gained 30.3% year-to-date.
