The tech giant will have cut over 27,000 jobs in recent months
Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is gathering some attention today, after news that the company will lay off another 9,000 workers. The latest round of job cuts, targeting its highly successful cloud and advertising divisions, will bring the tech name's total job cuts over the past few months to 27,000. Citigroup chimed in on the news, saying the eliminations could make Amazon more profitable.
AMZN is up 1.2% at $98.94 at last glance. The $101 level looks like it could be a line of pressure, after rejecting the shares on two separate occasions over the past month. Year-to-date, the equity is up 17%.
Over in the options pits, calls have been much more popular than usual. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), AMZN's 50-day call/put volume ratio of 1.98 ranks higher than 94% of readings from the past year. This sentiment is holding up today, with 87,000 calls and 33,000 puts across the tape so far.
Analysts remain overwhelmingly bullish as well. Of the 40 analysts in coverage, 38 carry a "buy" or better rating, with one a "hold," and one "strong sell." Plus, the 12-month consensus price target of $133.68 is a 35.1% premium to current levels.