The 10 Best Amazon Analysts On Wall Street

E-commerce giant Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is slated to announce second quarter 2015 earnings results on Thursday, July 23, after market close. Several factors are expected to be included in Amazon’s earnings report, including Prime Day sales and an update on Amazon Web Services (AWS). As such, Wall Street analysts have been weighing in on Amazon ahead of the company’s earnings with their latest predictions and forecasts. Here are the top 10 analysts who cover Amazon to listen to ahead of earnings:

1. Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray last rated Amazon on July 21, stating that “despite the [stock’s] recent move higher, [he] would be [an] owner of AMZN.” The analyst reiterates an Overweight rating on the company with a price target of $520. In regards to Amazon’s upcoming earnings, Munster believes the company “will exceed margin expectations for Jun-15 at a similar rate as the upside seen in the Mar-15 quarter (+100bps over high end of guidance) and will guide for the high end of Sep-15 margins above the Street… (which will also get a 2 percent boost from Prime Day).” Munster also weighed in on AWS, citing the cloud-computing platform as “larger than expected [and] more profitable than expected.” Additionally, the analyst believes “AWS will expand its portfolio with SaaS-like offerings and will continue to dominate its market” and will “see continued revenue growth.”

Gene Munster has rated Amazon a total of 34 times since 2009, earning a 91 percent success rate recommending the stock and a +28.7 percent average return per recommendation when measured over a one-year horizon and no benchmark.

2. Mark Mahaney of RBC Capital Markets last rated Amazon on July 21 in light of the company’s upcoming earnings, reiterating an Outperform rating on the stock with a $500 price target. The analyst believes “2015 results and fundamental trends will continue providing an upward bias to AMZN shares.” He also sees new revenue growth opportunities in “consumer staples, apparel, international expansion, Amazon Web Services, digital media offerings, office/industrial supplies, and advertising.” Mahaney specifically thinks AWS will help boost the company’s margins and together with Amazon Prime are “likely catalysts for gross margin expansion.”

Mark Mahaney has rated Amazon a total of 34 times since 2009, earning an 88% success rate recommending the company and a +31.0% average return per recommendation when measured over a one-year horizon and no benchmark.

3. Youssef Squali of Cantor Fitzgerald maintained a Buy rating on Amazon with a price target of $460 on July 20, citing that “e-commerce enabler” Google posted a strong earnings report the week prior, which is a good indicator that e-commerce companies are thriving.

Youssef Squali has rated Amazon a total of 18 times since 2009, earning an 83% success rate recommending the stock and a +29.7% average return per recommendation when measured over a one-year horizon and no benchmark.

4. Doug Anmuth of J.P Morgan last reiterated an Overweight rating on Amazon on July 13 due to his confidence in AWS. He highlighted that a large amount of the top independent software vendors have made it clear that they are “all-in” with AWS. He added, “By focusing on increasing the features and services available on the cloud ecosystem, AWS, in our view, is growing to become a more dominant one-stop cloud shop.”

Doug Anmuth has rated Amazon a total of 23 times since 2009, earning a 100% success rate recommending the stock and a +19.6% average return per recommendation when measured over a one-year horizon and no benchmark.

5. Victor Anthony of Axiom last weighed in on Amazon on June 24, maintaining a Buy rating on the stock and raising his price target from $460 to $500, citing his optimism on AWS. The analyst noted, “All that we have seen and heard from customers over the years suggests that a credible case can be made that AWS will not only sustain its market share but also potentially increase it.” The analyst also expects Amazon’s “margins to increase over time… as AWS gains leverage on opex, with the caveat being how aggressive Amazon gets with future price cuts.”

Victor Anthony has rated Amazon a total of 19 times since 2014, earning an 84 percent success rate recommending the company and a +24.7 percent average return per recommendation when measured over a one-year horizon and no benchmark.

6. Justin Post of Merrill Lynch maintained a Buy rating on Amazon on July 20 and raised his price target from $475 to $535, citing the stock as a “top idea.” The analyst expects Q2 revenue from AWS to confirm the division’s acceleration and believes Amazon Prime is continuing to gain momentum. Post also sees potential margin upside from AWS’s valuation.

Just Post has rated Amazon 18 times since 2011, earning a 69 percent success rate recommending the company and a +18.7 percent average return per recommendation when measured over a one-year horizon and no benchmark.

7. Colin Sebastian of R.W. Baird reiterated an Outperform rating on Amazon on July 8 and raised his price target from $465 to $475 with the belief that the company’s profit margins are on the rise as a result of third-party products sales. The analyst notes, “Amazon continues to add product selection at a fairly rapid clip, which [he] view[s] as one of the fundamental drivers of the company’s unit sales growth.” Additionally, the analyst expects “Amazon to leverage its ongoing fulfillment capacity build-out to convert a larger portion of third-party sellers to FBA, which allows Amazon to better manage the customer experience and increase the range of products eligible for Amazon Prime.”

Colin Sebastian has rated Amazon 26 times since 2010, earning a 91 percent success rate recommending the stock and a +30.6 percent average return per recommendation when measured over a one-year horizon and no benchmark.

8. Jason Helfstein of Oppenheimer reiterated an Outperform rating on Amazon on July 16 with a price target of $525 with the belief that AWS’s momentum in Q2 will be a positive surprise. The analyst notes, “AWS should see accelerating revenues and margins, as it is now lapping the significant March ’14 price reductions.” He added, “Cloud checks indicate accelerating volumes (+100% y/y), despite limited price reductions in the last nine months, with positive momentum into 2Q.”

Jason Helftein has rated Amazon 14 times since 2012, earning a 79% success rate recommending the company and a +29.5% average return per recommendation when measured over a one-year horizon and no benchmark.

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9. Robert Drbul of Nomura Holdings last weighed in on Amazon on July 15, reiterating a Buy rating on the stock and raising his price target from $490 to $500 ahead of the company’s Q2 earnings, citing, “significant momentum continues to exist for Amazon.” The analyst’s bullish sentiment is “encouraged by the company’s continued innovation and new initiatives, including the launch of free sameday delivery service for Prime members in May, the continued improvement and offering in Fresh, the advancement of the Echo, and the upcoming ‘Prime Day,’ which [he] view[s] as an example of the company’s focus on continued Prime growth.” Drbul also is positive on AWS, believing “AWS continues to maintain leadership in the Iaas space.”

Robert Drbul has rated Amazon 4 times since 2012, earning a 100 percent success rate recommending the stock and a +33.7 percent average return per recommendation when measured over a one-year horizon and no benchmark.

10. Shawn Milne of Janney Montgomery last rated Amazon on May 29, maintaining a Buy rating on the stock and raising his price target from $488 to $515. The analyst projects Amazon’s total gross merchandise volume to grow to $180 billion in fiscal year 2015 and anticipates momentum in productivity.

Shawn Milne has rated Amazon 11 times since 2010, earning an 89 percent success rate recommending the stock and a +28.5 percent average return per recommendation when measured over a one-year horizon and no benchmark.

Out of 33 analysts polled by TipRanks, 26 analysts are Bullish on Amazon and 7 are neutral. The average 12-month price target for Amazon is $491.59, marking a 0.39 percent potential upside from where the stock is currently trading. On average, the all-analyst consensus for Amazon is Moderate Buy.