Amazon Stock Heats Up as Analysts Bet on AWS

Amazon ( (AMZN) ) has been popular among investors this week. Here is a recap of the key news on this stock.

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Amazon heads into its April 29 Q1 2026 earnings with Wall Street firmly bullish, supported by fresh price target hikes and strong momentum in its shares. Analysts expect earnings per share of $1.63, up 2.5% year over year, and revenue of about $177.27 billion, a roughly 14% increase, as investors focus on the company’s AI and cloud growth story.

AMZN stock jumped about 3% after Meta Platforms signed a multi‑billion‑dollar deal to run agentic AI on Amazon Web Services’ Graviton chips, reinforcing AWS’s strategic position. BMO’s Brian Pitz lifted his target to $315 and reiterated a Buy, citing accelerating AWS growth and resilient U.S. consumer spending despite macro and geopolitical uncertainty.

Pitz sees advertising as another key profit driver for Amazon, raising his ad estimates for a packed 2026 calendar that includes the Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and major elections. He remains cautious on the broader 2026 retail outlook, but notes Amazon is improving efficiency with Same‑Day buildings and expects AI‑driven cloud demand to fuel a CapEx “super‑cycle” through at least 2027.

UBS analyst Stephen Ju also reaffirmed a Buy rating and nudged his target to $304, after lifting his 2027 AWS revenue and capex forecasts to reflect new AI deals with OpenAI and Anthropic that could add roughly $200 billion to backlog. Ju is far more optimistic than consensus, projecting 38% AWS growth in 2026 versus the Street’s 26%, which drives his 2027 operating income estimate about 39% above peers.

Even after a 36.7% gain in the past year, Ju argues Amazon’s valuation looks attractive at about 19 times his 2027 GAAP EPS forecast, a discount for what he calls a premium asset. The broader Street agrees: Amazon carries a Strong Buy rating from 42 Buys and three Holds, with an average 12‑month price target around $287 implying mid‑single‑digit to low‑double‑digit upside from current levels.

For investors, the key debate now is whether AWS and AI demand can deliver the outsized growth that the most bullish analysts foresee while retail weathers macro headwinds. With AMZN up 1.8% in the past week and more than 20% over the past month, upcoming Q1 results and management’s commentary on cloud, advertising and capital spending could be decisive catalysts for the next leg of the stock’s move.