After declining approximately 8% in the first quarter (Q1), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) joined numerous other stocks in an April rally that took the e-commerce and technology equity roughly 18% higher from $209.77 at the beginning of the month to $248.56 at press time.
Despite the momentum, AMZN remains at risk of a correction, considering that the Iran ceasefire – a major tailwind across the market – appears ready to collapse, and as analysts anticipate the April 29 quarterly report will feature earnings per share (EPS) of $1.69: lower than both the $1.98 expected and $1.95 reported in the previous quarter.
Still, through the uncertainty, Wall Street remains optimistic regarding Amazon’s trajectory, and all three most recent rating and price target revisions included upward reassessments.
Why these Wall Street analysts just upgraded their Amazon stock price forecasts
Specifically, the latest trend was initiated by Truist Financial on April 17 when Youssef Squali raised his 12-month forecast from $280 to $285, while giving a ‘Buy’ recommendation.
According to the institutional expert, the coming quarter should show further revenue growth acceleration for Amazon Web Services (AWS) from 23% in Q4 to 25% in Q1, thus helping justify the anticipated 14.67% rally.
By Monday, April 20, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and KeyBanc followed the trend set by Truist. Indeed, BofA’s Justin Post raised his expectation from a 10.64% upsurge to $275 to a 19.89% rise to $298 while confirming the ‘Buy’ rating.
KeyBanc’s Justin Patterson offered the same Amazon stock recommendation while issuing an even greater upgrade. Indeed, the Wall Street analyst no longer expects AMZN shares to move to $285 but instead to surge 30.75% to $325.
Both firms also referenced an acceleration in AWS revenue growth as one of the major reasons for the upgrades, and were likewise positive regarding the upcoming April 29 report in general.
Wall Street sets Amazon stock price target for next 12 months
Elsewhere, while the fact Amazon stock received three consecutive 12-month price target upgrades is somewhat remarkable, institutional bullishness regarding the e-commerce and technology giant is well established.
Overall, the company is regarded as a ‘Strong Buy’ once all the ratings provided in the last three months are accounted for, and data Finbold retrieved from TipRanks on April 20 reveals a total of 42 ‘Buy,’ 3 ‘Hold,’ and no ‘Sell’ recommendations within the timeframe.
Furthermore, Amazon stock is expected to rally 14.24% to $286.23 in the coming 12 months.
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