Citi Raises Amazon PT, Cites New Strategies For International Growth

Citi issued a report on Friday after reports that

is expected to provide a historical trend schedule prior to the first quarter 2015 earnings report. Credit Suisse raised Amazon's price target from $405 to $430 and maintained a Buy rating. Analysts Mark May, Kenneth Dorell, Ryan Ripp, and Bryan Zarnett wrote, "We believe the new disclosures will show that N.A. retail margins are not as low as some fear (~4 percent) and that AWS losses are not as great as some believe (<$125mn CSOI loss). Int'l retail losses continue, but this is likely due to isolated countries (e.g., China) and recent news suggests the company is exploring encouraging new strategies there." International retail is a concern for investors. Amazon currently has retail operations in 13 countries outside the U.S., representing 38 percent of total company revenue in 2014. Citi believes that international retail margins dipped negative in 2014 due primarily to investment in isolated countries in which the company is under-penetrated in. While these margins may worsen in 2015 due to depreciation and growth in capital expenditures, analysts believe that they should improve going forward. Shares of Amazon closed Thursday at $367.35.