Tag Archives: amzn

Amazon Stock Retakes Critical Level; Netflix Trips Bearish Signal

Loading the player… Leading tech stocks have lagged so far this year, as the overall market has not performed well. But now that the market is pivoting higher, it’s worth taking a fresh look at those big-cap tech names. Let’s check back in with the FANG stocks: Facebook ( FB ), Amazon ( AMZN ), Netflix ( NFLX ) and Google parent Alphabet ( GOOGL ). Amazon gapped up almost 5% to retake the critical 200-day line in slightly below-average volume. Shares breached that level in the days following Amazon’s last quarterly report, when its results missed estimates. The stock is now trading less than 20% below its all-time high, reached at the end of last year. The e-commerce giant on Monday raised the minimum order threshold for free shipping, amid a rise in shipping costs. Customers who are not Prime members must have orders of at least $49, up from the prior minimum of $35. The move could push more consumers to buy Amazon’s $99 annual Prime membership. Netflix gained 3% Monday, but its 50-day and 200-day lines are converging, which is very bearish. Volume was lighter than average. The technical sign comes as the stock has underperformed over the last several months. In January, Netflix announced a global expansion, and it’s continually adding new original content. But some analysts say that Hulu could challenge Netflix as it expands and invests in its own content. Facebook shares moved 2.5% higher Monday in average trade after regaining support at its 50-day line last week. The stock broke out of a base on earnings last month, but it reversed lower off of a new all-time high shortly after, as the market continued to sell off. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said over the weekend at this year’s Mobile World Congress that virtual reality is “the next platform.” The company’s Oculus Rift headset is priced at $599 dollars, cheaper than the just-announced $799 dollar price tag for the competing HTC Vive. Meanwhile, Alphabet rose 1% in below-average volume. The stock is trading below its 50-day line and about 10% below its high reached in early February.

Amazon Primes Pump, Hikes Minimum Free Shipping For Non-Subscribers

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) shipping got more expensive Monday, as the company announced  it was raising its free shipping minimum 40% to $49. The move, of course, only pertains to non-subscribers of its Amazon Prime loyalty program, since those subscribers get free shipping on any order. Amazon’s latest move is likely intended to drive more Prime subscription growth and also cut down on shipping costs. Amazon stock rose 4.6% to 559.50 on the stock market today , moving back above its 200-day moving average for the first time since plunging below that mark on Feb. 3. Rival Wal-Mart ( WMT ) has a $50 threshold for free shipping. E-tail startup Jet.com uses $35 as its minimum, while  Target ( TGT ) has a $25 minimum. Wal-Mart stock rose 1.5% on Monday while Target edged up 0.2%. Amazon’s shipping costs have been ballooning as the company offers increasing rapid delivery times — including one-hour delivery in certain markets via Amazon Prime Now. Those costs rose 37% year-over-year in Q4, to $4.7 billion. Rumors continue to swirl about the firm’s long-term plans for its shipping program, as investors and analysts speculate that Amazon is interested in competing with established delivery companies such as UPS ( UPS ) and FedEx ( FDX ). Internal documents seen by Bloomberg seemingly support that theory. And, there have been reports of Amazon getting into the ocean freight business  — which one observers said could generate upward of $100 million in free cash flow — as well as leasing cargo jets and making a large purchase of trucks to haul packages between its fulfillment centers. The documents seen by Bloomberg suggest Amazon is gearing up to compete more with China e-com leader  Alibaba ( BABA ). Besides delivery costs, Amazon has spent billions of dollars on its fulfillment and sortation centers, the last step in the delivery process. Wells Fargo analyst Matt Nemer says Amazon.com captured 51% of all retail growth in Q4 2015 . Amazon’s Prime loyalty program offers free two-day shipping, as well as free streaming audio and video, among other perks. Analysts in general peg Amazon’s Prime customer count near 40 million, with some estimates coming in as high as 50 million. Prime members, on average, spend about twice as much on Amazon.com than regular shoppers. Prime members accounted for 57% of Amazon’s North American sales in Q4, and Prime members spend about 12% more every year, according to ITG Investment Research analyst Steve Weinstein. Nemer has told IBD that Prime is the biggest reason for Amazon’s growth, which during the past two quarters has exceeded 20%.

Amazon Continues To Gain Holiday Sales Share At Expense Of Rivals

Amazon.com ( AMZN ) fell just shy of Q4 sales expectations when the company reported its earnings results late last month, but in many ways, the holidays were very very good to the e-commerce leader. The e-tailer’s lead grew last holiday, according to a new report from Slice Intelligence .  The research firm says Amazon’s revenue rose 12% for the holiday period — Nov. 1 through Dec. 27 — vs. just 10% of online sales overall. Because of Amazon’s massive market share , that 12% accounted for more than half the total online-sales dollar growth, according to Slice. Amazon is so dominant that it’s market position might be close to impenetrable , some observers say. Amazon even dwarfs walmart.com, the Web property of No. 1 overall retailer  Wal-Mart ( WMT ). Amazon late last month said Q4 revenue jumped 22% year over year to $35.7 billion, but Wall Street had modeled nearly $36 billion. The biggest percentage growth for the holidays, though, goes to much smaller  Wayfair ( W ), a website dedicated to selling furniture and accessories for homes. Slice says its Q4 sales soared 150%, and says it is stealing shoppers from Amazon, Restoration Hardware ( RH ) and Macy’s ( M ). Retail giant Target ( TGT ) had a good holiday season, says the Slice report, with Q4 sales rising 52%, spurred by a strong inventory, aggressive promotions and its offer of free shipping for every order. Target and Wayfair both report Q4 earnings results next week. As IBD has previously reported , the Slice report also indicated that the holiday shopping season is stretching out, with a greater percentage of the season’s sales taking place before Thanksgiving. Amazon stock rose 1.9% Friday, to 534.90, after touching a record high of 696 in late December.