What happened
Shares of Amazon.com (AMZN +0.20%) were rising almost 5% in afternoon trading Tuesday following an analyst upgrade on the stock after its recent pullback and rumors that its annual Prime Day sales event was imminent.
So what
Amazon, along with other numerous tech stocks, exhibited significant weakness in recent days, which helped cause the market indexes to fall sharply from their highs. Yet Bernstein analyst Mark Shmulik said Amazon's "dominant share position" will only become more prominent as the retail sector normalizes. Because of the strategic gains the e-commerce giant has made in grocery and shopping, the pullback in its stock creates an "attractive entry point."
Image source: Getty Images.
Also, The Verge reports Prime Day will kick off on Oct. 13. The annual shopping extravaganza was postponed from its usual July date because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and consumers have anticipated its return as we're getting closer to the start of the Christmas shopping season.
Many retailers are planning to start their own holiday sales events early this year to make up for the five months of revenue lost to the coronavirus outbreak.
Now what
Amazon's stock had peaked at over $3,550 per share at the start of the month but had fallen to $2,960 at yesterday's close. The low price and the coming boost to sales are sending shares higher.
The retailer also entered the connected-fitness market today with the launch of Prime Bike, a low-cost stationary bike from Echelon.
