Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) Trading Down 2% Following Analyst Downgrade

Posted by George Bondi on Sep 17th, 2026

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) dropped 2% during trading on Tuesday after Zacks Research downgraded the stock from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $247.22 and last traded at $248.42. Approximately 35,526,116 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 25% from the average daily volume of 47,553,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $253.54.

AMZN has been the topic of several other research reports. Citizens Jmp restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of Amazon.com in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Arete Research lifted their target price on Amazon.com from $301.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Amazon.com from $293.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Amazon.com from $330.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Phillip Securities downgraded shares of Amazon.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Fifty-six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.26.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Douglas J. Herrington sold 6,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.01, for a total value of $1,647,821.62. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,681 shares in the company, valued at $123,465,145.81. This trade represents a 1.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, SVP David Zapolsky sold 9,258 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.77, for a total transaction of $2,404,950.66. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 41,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,699,926.30. This trade represents a 18.35% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,589 shares of company stock valued at $18,568,785. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Amazon.com News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Amazon.com this week:

Positive Sentiment: Data-center power agreement supports AI expansion. Amazon agreed to purchase backup generators from Generac, with approximately $2.4 billion of deliveries expected in 2027–2028 and a potential total relationship of up to $8 billion through 2033. Amazon also received warrants to buy up to roughly 1.69 million Generac shares. The deal indicates Amazon is securing behind-the-meter power to avoid grid-connection delays for AWS data centers. Generac, Amazon strike $2.4 billion long-term generator supply deal
Positive Sentiment: AWS momentum remains a major catalyst. CEO Andy Jassy said AWS has reached a $169 billion annual revenue run rate, reflecting strong demand for both AI and traditional cloud services. Analysts remain constructive, with Bank of America reiterating a Buy rating and a $320 price target. Amazon’s Andy Jassy Just Made a Startling Prediction
Positive Sentiment: Delivery investment could strengthen retail competitiveness. Project Mercury reportedly aims to expand same-day delivery hubs from 85 to more than 1,000 by 2031, potentially placing facilities within 10 miles of 80% of U.S. Prime members and challenging Walmart’s delivery advantage. Amazon’s next move could reshape how America shops
Neutral Sentiment: Amazon joined technology companies calling for stronger AI safety practices and industry standards. The move may reduce long-term regulatory uncertainty but has limited immediate earnings impact. Amazon Joins Calls for AI Safety and Industry Standards
Negative Sentiment: Regulatory scrutiny is increasing. Two U.S. senators asked the FTC to investigate whether Amazon and Walmart’s AI shopping chatbots improperly suppress U.S.-made products or fail to identify fraudulent “Made in USA” labels. Amazon, Walmart chatbots attract senator ire
Negative Sentiment: Higher wages and benefits for U.S. operations workers raise expenses, while heavy AI investment is pressuring free cash flow and increasing reliance on debt. AWS also said some customer data from damaged Bahrain and UAE facilities cannot be recovered, creating reputational and customer-retention risks. Amazon’s AI Bet Is Paying Off in Revenues

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amazon.com

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Amazon.com by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 166,954 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $39,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Bullseye Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Amazon.com during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,688,000. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas raised its stake in shares of Amazon.com by 2.4% in the second quarter. Smith Chas P & Associates PA Cpas now owns 195,038 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock worth $46,485,000 after purchasing an additional 4,639 shares during the last quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 20.0% in the second quarter. Talon Private Wealth LLC now owns 18,859 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $4,495,000 after purchasing an additional 3,139 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Amazon.com by 0.3% in the second quarter. Marathon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 43,760 shares of the e-commerce giant’s stock valued at $10,430,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. 72.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Amazon.com Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.71 trillion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50-day moving average of $255.84 and a 200-day moving average of $245.25.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The e-commerce giant reported $5.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $3.93. The business had revenue of $200.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.03 billion. Amazon.com had a return on equity of 18.00% and a net margin of 17.44%.Amazon.com’s quarterly revenue was up 19.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.68 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Amazon.com, Inc. will post 8.05 earnings per share for the current year.

About Amazon.com

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Amazon.com, Inc is a global technology and e-commerce company that operates online marketplaces and provides a broad range of consumer products and services. Its retail business sells merchandise directly to customers and enables third-party sellers to offer products through Amazon’s websites and applications. The company also operates physical stores and provides services such as digital content, subscriptions, and consumer devices, including Kindle and Echo products.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides cloud computing, storage, database, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other technology services to businesses, governments, and organizations.