Amazon (AMZN) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know

Amazon (AMZN) closed at $1,760.33 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.66% move from the prior day. The stock lagged the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.86%. At the same time, the Dow added 0.79%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.73%.

Coming into today, shares of the online retailer had lost 0.25% in the past month. In that same time, the Retail-Wholesale sector gained 1.17%, while the S&P 500 gained 1.94%.

AMZN will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, AMZN is projected to report earnings of $3.98 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 34.11%. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $85.98 billion, up 18.78% from the prior-year quarter.

AMZN's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $20.51 per share and revenue of $279.11 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +1.84% and +19.85%, respectively.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for AMZN. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.03% lower. AMZN is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, AMZN currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 85.27. This represents a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 21.51.

Meanwhile, AMZN's PEG ratio is currently 3.11. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. Internet - Commerce stocks are, on average, holding a PEG ratio of 1.33 based on yesterday's closing prices.

The Internet - Commerce industry is part of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 170, which puts it in the bottom 34% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

To follow AMZN in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.

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