Despite again taking some flak over air conditioning its robots but not its employees, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) has enjoyed a strong 2024 due to the continued dominance of the e-commerce business and the growth of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud infrastructure.
Indeed, though AMZN shares are trading below their yearly highs due to a decline, the popular market analyst and former Hedge Fund Manager Jim Cramer has linked this to investors’ mass move to the Chinese market, the stock remains 22.22% up since January 2.
Still, the overall rise paired with the series of drops – the early August fall being the other most notable downturn for the company – leaves room for some doubt whether Amazon can continue striving for new all-time highs (ATH) or if a deeper slide is in the cards.
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Analysts forecast Amazon’s stock price for the coming 12 months
At a glance, Amazon’s future appears bright, as it boasts an overall ‘strong buy’ rating on the stock analysis platform TipRanks, per the data Finbold retrieved on the morning of October 7.
Specifically, 44 of the 45 represented experts recommend investors buy AMZN stock, and one is ‘neutral.’ At press time, none of the represented analysts believe selling is the right call.
The average price target is likewise bullish as Amazon shares are expected to rally another 20.13% from their October 7 price of $183.25 and hit $224.05 in the coming 12 months.
Additionally, even the lowest represented price forecast constitutes a slight upside, placing AMZN stock’s price in the next 52 weeks at $186.
Banking giant estimates Amazon stock will disappoint in the short term
Some of the most recent revisions, however, slightly spoil the optimistic picture. Indeed, in the early morning of October 7, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) experts downgraded Amazon’s stock rating from ‘overweight’ – ‘buy’ – to ‘equal weight’ – ‘hold.’
The revision was accompanied by a price target adjustment from $225 to $183 – a new Street low, and a minor predicted downside compared to AMZN price today.
According to Wells Fargo, it is precisely the success Amazon has enjoyed in recent years that has opened up the room for the downside. Despite the long-term potential still being strong, growth is unlikely to be linear and investors might soon find themselves somewhat disappointed.
The experts also noted the likely pressure from rising competitors, with Walmart (NYSE: WMT) being singled out.
Nonetheless, not all recent forecast adjustments were as conservative. On October 4, for example, JPMorgan (NYSE: JPM) reiterated the ‘buy’ rating and maintained the $265 target – the Street high also present in the revision made by Truist in late September.
Furthermore, Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) also reiterated its bullish ‘overweight’ assessment and the associated $210 forecast.
Amazon stock price chart
Finally, whatever the future may hold, it is difficult to deny Amazon’s stock market strength in 2024. Indeed, the 22.22% rise since January 2 has ensured AMZN shares are trading at $183.25, only moderately below their ATH near $200 recorded in July.
On the other hand, Amazon’s recent moderate downtrend and its current position below its 2024 highs clearly bolster Wells Fargo’s call for caution.
