Amazon's regulatory battles do not faze Wall Street analysts
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Analysts continue to look right past the FTC regulatory issues for Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), seeing then as a distraction that may take a very long time to play out. The new revelation that Amazon (AMZN) may have used a secret algorithm called Project Nessie to help it set prices in way that competitors would follow has not created too much of a stir in the analyst community.
JPMorgan said Amazon (AMZN) remains one of its top ideas and kept an Overweight rating in place. The firm believes it will be challenging for the FTC to prove that Amazon (AMZN) illegally maintains monopoly power that blocks competition, inflates prices, degrades quality, and stifles innovation. The tech giant is seen having an argument that it has done the opposite of stifling competition.
Analyst Douglas Anmuth in addressing recent investor concerns noted that AWS growth should be buoyed by new workload deployment and easing year-over-year comparisons for the back half of the year. The firm also expect Gen AI to become a more meaningful driver for AWS in 2024. As for concerns over the state of the U.S. consumer, Anmuth and team recognize uneven trends and general softness, but also think AMZN has seen trade down and value seeking for a couple quarters. "And despite a challenging broader retail backdrop, we believe AMZNâs growth is supported by key companyspecific initiatives including same-day/1-day delivery, greater Prime member spending, & strong 3P selection," noted Anmuth.
JPMorgan's price target on AMZN of $180 is based on a 12.5X multiple of the 2025 adjusted EBITDA estimate.
Overall, 48 sell-side firms with a rating on Amazon (AMZN) are in the bull camp, while just 3 sell-side firms have a Hold-equivalent rating and none are down on digital paper with a Sell-equivalent rating.
Shares of Amazon (AMZN) rose 1.38% in late morning trading on Wednesday. The tech stock is down about 7% over the last six weeks.

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