Analysts are mostly confident Amazon can work through inflationary pressures, JPMorgan says 'buy the pullback'

Published Fri, Apr 29 202210:22 AM EDT

Wall Street analysts haven't lost faith in Amazon even after the e-commerce giant's mixed quarterly report. Amazon shares dropped nearly 12% on Friday after the company signaled rising inflation will hurt sales amid growing exposure to macro pressures from the Russia invasion in Ukraine. Amazon also recorded a $7.6 billion loss on its Rivian investment. Still, analysts mostly maintained buy ratings on the company, as they expect that Amazon will work through any inflationary pressures and accelerate growth in the back half of the year. Some analysts say they would gladly buy the dip. To be sure, several of them cut their price targets on the stock. Here is what analysts are saying. JPMorgan says buy the dip Buy the pullback on Amazon as the online retailer can work through inflationary pressures in the coming months, said JPMorgan's Doug Anmuth. The analyst reiterated his overweight rating on the stock, saying in a Friday note to clients that Amazon can better control productivity in the back half of the year. "The quick summary of our AMZN top pick thesis coming into 2022 was that Revenue growth would accelerate in 2Q/2H, the investment cycle would slow, & that AMZN would become a cleaner story post-pandemic," Anmuth said. "While AMZN hardly feels clean at the moment, we believe the thesis remains intact, albeit potentially pushed out a bit in terms of costs." "AMZN remains our top pick & we would buy the weakness, even as our PT comes down to $4,000," Anmuth added. JPMorgan cut its price target on the stock to $4,000 from $4,500. Goldman Sachs reiterates buy Amazon in the coming years will be able to capitalize on investments that it started in the prior period, according to Goldman Sachs. Analyst Eric Sheridan continues to see the company as a top pick, saying in a Friday note the company will be able to grow Amazon Prime Now and double its fulfillment centers over the next two years. "We continue to see Amazon as a top pick on a 12-month view with an increasingly positive skew in its risk/reward after further de-rating post this earnings report," Sheridan said. Goldman Sachs reiterated its buy rating and adjusted its estimates. It also lowered its price target to $3,700 from $4,000. Evercore maintains outperform Amazon will "effectively execute" through any global macro challenges, though it may take a little longer than expected for the company to deliver rising profits, according to Evercore ISI. Analyst Mark Mahaney maintained an outperform rating on the company. "AMZN is now large enough and diversified enough to be fully exposed to global Macro challenges, and its EPS results and outlook, especially on the cost side, reflect that," Mahaney said. "We believe these Macro issues are transitory (sigh), and that AMZN can effectively execute through them, delivering rising profit margins over time, but this is now likely a late-'22/early-'23 transition vs. our prior expectation of mid-'22." Evercore ISI cut the target price to $4,100 from $4,300. Citi reiterates buy rating Citi analysts said they would "take advantage" of any dislocation in Amazon shares. Analyst Ronald Josey reiterated the firm's buy rating, saying Friday that shorter term challenges will improve as the year progresses, especially after Amazon benefits from Prime Day and the holiday season. "Importantly, our core thesis on shares around margin expansion over time remains intact, though we acknowledge shorter term headwinds here. And with delivery speeds approaching pre-pandemic levels, newer products launching like Buy with Prime, and continued strength at AWS, we would take advantage of any dislocation in shares and we reiterate our Buy rating," Josey said. Citi maintained a $4,100 price target on the company. Morgan Stanley sticks to overweight There are three positives for Amazon, according to Morgan Stanley which remains bullish on the tech giant. Amazon Analyst Brian Nowak maintained an overweight rating on Amazon, saying Friday the company is improving delivery times, slowing capital expenditures and maintains strong demand with consumers. "We remain bullish while acknowledging that the catalyst may have just gotten pushed back to October earnings when AMZN (we hope) will guide to another quarter of revenue acceleration and profitable retail quarter (4Q:21) ... the first one of the year," Nowak wrote. To be sure, the company is also dealing with overstaffing after its hiring spree during the pandemic. It's also dealing with higher wages and fuel. Morgan Stanley lower their price target to $3,800 from $4,200 on Amazon Bank of America reiterates buy, cuts price target Overcapacity and overstaffing at Amazon are "problems with solutions," according to Bank of America. Analyst Justin Post reiterated a buy rating on Amazon, saying in a note to clients Friday the outlook miss does not offset strong fundamentals in the company. "Bears may argue more input cost pressure and higher wages ahead, but we expect better labor utilization and higher 3P fees & product prices to help offset," Post said. "We reiterate our Buy rating on Amazon based on: 1) Strong AWS fundamentals, 2) share gains in US eCommerce in 1Q'22, 3) potential for meaningful acceleration in 2H'22 as comps ease, and 4) a track record of finding efficiencies after big investment cycles." Bank of America also slashed Amazon's price objective to $3,770 from $4,225. Needham maintains buy Amazon should be valued more like a services company including its advertising and subscription business than a products company as it continues to grow, according to Needham. "We assume that COVID-19 accelerates consumer adoption of AMZN's Product sales near term and Services Sales (at much higher margins) longer term, which results in strong over-delivery of FCF and ROIC growth between 2021-2023," analyst Laura Martin said. Needham maintained a buy rating and slashed Amazon's price target to $3,500 from $4,150. Deutsche Bank keeps buy, slashes price target 15% Buy the dip on Amazon as the revenue outlook for the second quarter is likely to be the worst news out of the company this year, says Deutsche Bank. Analyst Lee Horowitz maintained a buy rating on Amazon, saying Thursday is likely to accelerate revenue growth in the back half of 2022. "2Q revenue outlook is likely the biggest disappointment in the quarter. The 2Q revenue guide implies FXN y/y revenue growth of 5-9% versus 9% in 1Q. Given that part of the Amazon bull case had been predicated on the combination of accelerating revenue growth as we move through 2022, this was likely the biggest disappointment in the print," Horowitz said. "That said, with Prime Day moving out of the 2Q and into the 3Q in 2022, there is a fair amount of noise in the 2Q guide. In fact, we believe that Prime Day drove $3.6bn in revenue in 2Q21, suggesting that ex-Prime Day, the high end of guidance implies 10% underlying growth in the 2Q," Horowitz continued. To be sure, analysts noted a higher interest rate environment could weigh on Amazon, even as it weathers inflationary pressures better than competitors. Deutsche Bank slashed Amazon's price target by nearly 15%, down to $3,500 from $4,100. —CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.

The Amazon logo is seen at the company's logistics centre in Boves, France, February 11, 2022.

Pascal Rossignol | Reuters

Wall Street analysts haven't lost faith in Amazon even after the e-commerce giant's mixed quarterly report.

Amazon shares dropped nearly 12% on Friday after the company signaled rising inflation will hurt sales amid growing exposure to macro pressures from the Russia invasion in Ukraine. Amazon also recorded a $7.6 billion loss on its Rivian investment.

Still, analysts mostly maintained buy ratings on the company, as they expect that Amazon will work through any inflationary pressures and accelerate growth in the back half of the year. Some analysts say they would gladly buy the dip. To be sure, several of them cut their price targets on the stock.

Here is what analysts are saying.