'Cloud and Untact' Dual Wings... Amazon Shakes Nasdaq

Record High Again After 6 Trading Days... 353 Trillion Won Funds Inflow in One Day
Wall Street Raises Target Prices by 30%, Stock Market Sees Massive Investment

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Nasdaq has once again hit an all-time high, drawing attention to Amazon. It is the only company that possesses both cloud services and online shopping, sectors experiencing high growth due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wall Street raised Amazon's stock price target by 30% on this day.

On the 20th (local time) in the New York stock market, Amazon surged 7.93%. Its market capitalization increased by $119.2 billion in a single day, reaching a total of $1.56 trillion (approximately 1,870 trillion KRW). The Nasdaq, which is tech-stock focused and where Amazon is listed, closed up 2.51% (263.90 points) at 17,767.09. This marked a new all-time high after six trading days since the 10th, with $295.16 billion (approximately 353 trillion KRW) flowing into Nasdaq in just one day. CNBC analyzed, "Among companies listed on Nasdaq, IT stocks led the market rally, with Amazon's performance standing out the most."

Amazon is considered the biggest beneficiary of COVID-19. As social distancing expanded due to the pandemic, consumer shopping patterns shifted to online, and the spread of remote work and increased online activities boosted corporate demand for cloud services. In the first quarter following the COVID-19 outbreak, Amazon's total sales increased by 26% compared to the same period last year. Online shopping sales in North America rose by 29%. During the same period, Amazon Web Services (AWS) revenue grew by 33%. Launched in 2006, AWS currently holds the top position in the global cloud market with a 32.4% market share. The cloud market is expected to grow annually by more than 37%, making it a high-growth sector. Consequently, cloud services accounted for 67% of Amazon's operating profit last year.

Expectations have risen ahead of the Q2 earnings announcement scheduled for the 30th. Heather Bellini, a Goldman Sachs analyst, raised Amazon's earnings forecast for this year and the next three years, increasing the target stock price from $3,000 to $3,800. This is nearly 20% higher than Amazon's closing price of $3,196.84 on the day. CNBC explained, "Goldman Sachs' target price for Amazon is the highest among Wall Street estimates." Investment bank Jefferies also set the same target price as Goldman Sachs. Rohit Kulkarni, an analyst at MKM Partners, raised his target price by 33%. Kulkarni said, "Amazon is a representative company benefiting from both rapid corporate cloud computing transitions and online shopping in the COVID-19 era," adding, "Amazon is the leading stock with the best performance this year."

Meanwhile, on the same day in Nasdaq, Microsoft (MS) rose 4.35%, Alphabet 3.35%, Apple 2.1%, Facebook 1.4%, and Netflix 1.91%.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.