After taking a beating in the stock market through the last 30 days, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) received something of an institutional boost on February 18 when Bernstein confirmed its bullish outlook for the blue-chip.
Specifically, analyst Mark Shmulik reiterated his previous ‘Buy’ rating for AMZN shares while setting the 12-month price target for the e-commerce and technology equity at $265 – 30% above the press time level at $203.59.
The forecast is particularly important since Bernstein downgraded its price prediction the last time it announced an update regarding Amazon stock.
Indeed, in early February, Shmulik noted the company’s mixed performance – and the discrepancy between AWS’ strength and the failure of the recent massive expenditure to achieve impressive results – when downgrading the target from $300 to $265.
The most recent note, on the other hand, highlighted Amazon’s long-term strength and its position as one of the top beneficiaries of the ongoing artificial intelligence (AI) boom.
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In contrast to the Wall Street optimism, AMZN stock is down 11.87% in the last month and a similar 11.82% year-to-date (YTD).
The oversold argument is also strengthened by the fact that, despite a rally in the second half of 2025, Amazon shares are down 10.19% in the 12-month chart.
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Another reason why institutional confidence voiced by Bernstein is welcome for Amazon stock can be found in the ongoing 13-F filings season.
During his final quarter as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A, BRK.B), Warren Buffett, arguably the most respected billionaire investor in the world, trimmed his AMZN position by some $1.7 billion: by nearly 80%.
Wall Street predicts a 38% rally for Amazon stock
Elsewhere, it is notable that the stock market troubles and AI-related technology sector woes have not dampened Wall Street’s general outlook for Amazon stock, at least when the ratings during the latest three months are counted.
AMZN shares are overwhelmingly rated as a ‘Strong Buy,’ and the average 12-month price target for Amazon stock stands at $282.14 – 38% above the press time levels on February 19, per the data Finbold retrieved from TipRanks on the day.
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