Amazon Options Hot After Earnings Win

At least nine analysts raised their Amazon price targets overnight

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is buzzing this morning, with analysts quick to react after the e-tailer last night reported a first-quarter earnings beat. Specifically, the tech giant recorded a $7.09 per-share profit in the first three months of 2019, more than double its year-ago $3.27 per-share profit, and well above the consensus estimate. Revenue of $57.7 billion also beat, thanks to strong growth in its cloud division. Plus, Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky said a record number of people signed up for its Prime service in 2018, and the company has set a goal to make one-day delivery the standard for Prime members.

In response, AMZN is up 0.5% at $1,911.10 at last check, with no fewer than nineprice-target hikes and one price-target cut accounted for. The most optimistic outlook has come out of D.A. Davidson, to $2,550 from $2,450, while the lone cut was handed out at Morgan Stanley to $2,100 from $2,200. The former represents a notable 34% upside to last night's close, and echoes the broader trend seen among analysts, with all but one of the 26 firms maintaining a "buy" or better.

Options volume is hot this morning, with roughly 85,000 calls and 79,000 puts on the tape so far. This amount is already three times the usual intraday rate, with total options volume pacing in the 100th annual percentile. Most popular this morning are the soon-to-expire weekly 4/26 1,900-strike put and 1,930-strike call, where 7,600 total contracts have exchanged hands.

Looking at the charts, Amazon shares have been moving higher in recent months, up 20% since an early March test of the $1,600 level and their 50-day moving average. With a recent boost from its expanded Kohl's (KSS) partnership, AMZN has already added 27.4% in 2019.