AMZN Curbs Online Grocery Orders Amid Surging Demand

Amazon is putting new grocery delivery requests on a wait list as demand skyrockets

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), is up 1.5% at $2,073.47 amid news that the e-commerce giant will create a wait list for new shoppers trying to use their online grocery delivery service, as more customers turn to such services due to coronavirus-related lockdowns. Amazon also said it will adjust hours in some of its Whole Foods store in order to prioritize online orders placed by existing customers.

Meanwhile, Cannacord Genuity upped its price target to $2,600 from $2,500. This optimism can be seen across the board, with all but one of the 32 analysts in coverage calling it a "buy" or better, while the consensus 12-month price target of $2,413.11 is a healthy 14.5% premium to current levels.

The options pits are telling a different story with AMZN sporting a 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.87 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 80% of readings from the past 12 months. This suggests a heavier-than-usual appetite for long putsof late.

Today, Amazon is looking to close its late-February bear gap, which put the shares back below familiar resistance at the $2,050 region. The stock is now up 13.8% for the year, and just notched its fourth consecutive weekly gain last week, its longest since January.