Amazon's new biggest bull thinks the tech giant could surge another 31% as it emerges from the Covid-19 crisis stronger
- JPMorgan on Friday raised its price target for Amazon to $3,000 from $2,525, based on a sum-of-the-parts analysis. It's tied with the Wall Street high target for the tech giant.
- The price target is 31% higher than where Amazon stock traded at Friday's close.
- "We are encouraged that AMZN has opened up again to 3P non-essential items, & we believe consumers may be a bit more comfortable purchasing discretionary items now than in March, despite high overall unemployment," wrote JPMorgan analysts led by Doug Anmuth in the Friday note.
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Amazon has a new biggest bull on Wall Street that thinks it's poised to gain even more post-coronavirus crisis.
JPMorgan on Friday raised its price target for the tech giant to $3,000 from $2,525, based on a sum-of-the-parts analysis.
That's a 31% jump from where Amazon shares traded at Friday's close. Amazon gained as much as 1.3% in early trading Monday.
The bank now matches Goldman Sachs and Susquehanna as the biggest Amazon bulls on Wall Street — all three have a price target of $3,000 for the tech company. JPMorgan also reiterated its "buy" rating on Amazon shares.
The upgrade comes after Amazon's first quarter earnings report, released Thursday, which fell short of Wall Street's expectations, sending shares down nearly 9%. Amazon's sales surged during the quarter as more people shopped online amid the coronavirus pandemic, but profit slumped as the crisis boosted costs and led to supply chain issues.
JPMorgan looked beyond the earnings miss and noted strong revenue in the first quarter. It also had a solid outlook for the second that reflects a range of outcomes related to the macroeconomic environment and potential reopening of the economy.
"We are encouraged that AMZN has opened up again to 3P non-essential items, & we believe consumers may be a bit more comfortable purchasing discretionary items now than in March, despite high overall unemployment," wrote JPMorgan analysts led by Doug Anmuth in the Friday note.
JPMorgan also sees Amazon's big bet on the future as a positive. On the earnings call, CEO Jeff Bezos announced that COVID-19 related expenses in the second quarter would be $4 billion, essentially offsetting profits.
"We believe that AMZN is perhaps the only company that can service customers this well with scale & effectiveness during the crisis," wrote Anmuth. JPMorgan also thinks these costs will ease going forward, to $2 billion in the third quarter and $1 billion in the fourth quarter.
There could also be immense payoff from spending the money, according to the firm. Amazon is not operating normally right now, but it is "serving customers in a way that few, if any, others can," Anmuth said.
Even though Amazon has not been immune to the impact of the coronavirus crisis, "the benefits to AMZN will pay off in terms of driving increased customer loyalty, accelerated e-commerce adoption, & sustainable penetration lifts in emerging categories such as grocery, essentials, & household items," Anmuth said.
Wall Street analysts have a consensus price target of about $2,635 on Amazon and 51 "buy" ratings, four "hold" ratings, and one "sell" rating, according to Bloomberg data.
Amazon has gained about 24% year-to-date through Friday's close.
