handful of Wall Street analysts initiated coverage of the food delivery kit with bullish ratings.
The slew of initiation notes comes at a time when the standard quiet period has come to an end. But perhaps more important Blue Apron's stock has been crushed due to competitive concerns that Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN is looking to make a big entrance into the space aided by its proposed acquisition of Whole Foods Market, Inc. WFM.
Cramer: Is No One Paying Attention
Are analysts ignoring reality? They might be, at least according to CNBC's Jim Cramer. All the bullish analysts are acting as if "nothing has happened" and Amazon's proposed acquisition of Whole Foods will have no impact whatsoever.
In reality, the "world has changed when Amazon bought Whole Foods," and the company is certainly not a beneficiary of the merger.
"Every time you buy this stock, if you do buy it, you are going to get hit by a whisper of Amazon as we all know there isn't anybody who has been able to say 'I'm Amazon proof' except one exception: Wal-Mart Stores Inc WMT," Cramer concluded.
Finally, the argument could be made that Blue Apron boasts an impressive scale and this is the true barrier to entry — similar to the food delivery space where GrubHub Inc GRUB emerged the ultimate winner. But at the end of the day, GrubHub beat out all of its rivals without the need to fight against the juggernaut Amazon — a difficult task that Blue Apron will have to contend with.
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