The shares of Amazon (AMZN) are climbing after the e-commerce giant reported stronger than expected first quarter results. A large number of Wall Street research firms have responded to the results by raising their price targets on the stock. However, breaking with the bullish pack, KeyBanc downgraded the shares this morning, citing competition concerns.
RESULTS: Amazon reported first quarter earnings per share of $1.48, versus the consensus outlook of $1.13. Its revenue came in at $35.7B, versus the consensus estimate of $35.31B. The revenue of the company's cloud business jumped to $3.66B in Q1, up from $2.57B a year earlier.
MANY TARGETS NOW OVER $1,000: RBC Capital analyst Mark Mahaney increased his price target on Amazon to $1,100 from $900, stating that the company's Q1 results were strong and its gross margin beat expectations. Mahaney noted that the company's two largest markets -- e-commerce and the cloud -- have only reached 10% penetration levels and he says that its competitive advantages are increasing. Noting that the company's retail revenue has increased by at least 20% for 19 straight quarter, the analyst says that its retail revenue growth "has never been more consistent." Furthermore, Amazon is generating "close to 50% EBITDA margins," noted Mahaney, who kept an Outperform rating on the shares. UBS analyst Eric Sheridan raised his price target on Amazon to $1,100 from $930, as he believes the company should have "continued topline and gross profit momentum" in the second half of 2017. Long-term investors should benefit from its victories in the e-commerce and cloud sectors, according to Sheridan, who kept a Buy rating on the stock. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs analyst Heath Terry raised Amazon's price target to $1,250 from $1,100 and reiterated his Conviction Buy rating following Q1 results, saying revenue growth accelerated to 24% from 22% in Q4. Terry continues to believe the company is in the early stages of shift towards the cloud and the transition of traditional retail online and the market underestimates the long-term financial benefit of these growth drivers.
DOWNGRADE: Against this enthusiastic backdrop on the Street, KeyBanc analyst Edward Yruma downgraded Amazon to Sector Weight from Overweight. The company's results were "impressive," but it is seeing intensifying competition from Wal-Mart (WMT) on the e-commerce front, Yruma believes. Moreover, after heavily investing in their cloud businesses, Microsoft (MSFT) and Google (GOOG, GOOGL) have reduced the gap between their international presence and that of Amazon, Yruma believes. Checks indicate that Microsoft's Azure unit is "starting to gain some momentum within large enterprises and government agencies" that are moving to the public cloud, according to Yruma. Consequently, the growth of Amazon's cloud business will probably decline to 40% in 2017 and below 40% in the second half of the year, warned Yruma, Despite the downgrade, the analyst remains "constructive" on the company's longer term outlook and recommends that investors look for a more attractive entry point in the name.
PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, Amazon rose 2.3% to $939.63 per share. Earlier in the session, the stock hit a 52-week high of $949.59.
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