Amazon shares gain for a second straight session on Monday, e-commerce giant to expand Whole Foods Market portfolio, WSJ reports

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal over the past weekend, citing people with knowledge of the matter, Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) intends to expand its portfolio of Whole Foods stores in order to place a larger number of clients within its two-hour delivery service range.

Amazon shares closed higher for a second consecutive trading session on NASDAQ on Monday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since December 26th. The stock went up 1.62% ($23.95) to $1,501.97, after touching an intraday high at $1,520.59, or a price level not seen since December 19th ($1,584.53).

Shares of Amazon.com Inc surged 28.43% in 2018 compared with a 6.24% drop for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Amazon’s stock rose 55.96%, thus, it again outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

According to the WSJ, the e-commerce giant intends to expand Prime Now, its two-hour delivery service, to almost all of the 475 Whole Foods stores located across the United States.

Amazons Prime Now allows subscribers to take advantage of a two-hour delivery option in over 60 cities as well as of on-line grocery pickup option from Whole Foods stores in 30 minutes available in 30 cities.

Locations with no Whole Foods stores such as Idaho, southern Utah and Wyoming have already been visited by employees of the company in search of potential retail spaces.

According to CNN Money, the 45 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Amazon.com Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $2,125.00, with a high estimate of $2,450.00 and a low estimate of $1,900.00. The median estimate represents a 41.48% upside compared to the closing price of $1,501.97 on December 31st.

The same media also reported that 41 out of 47 surveyed investment analysts had rated Amazon.com Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 1 – as “Hold”.

Weekly Pivot Levels

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $1,432.83
R1 – $1,558.66
R2 – $1,639.30
R3 – $1,765.13
R4 – $1,890.96

S1 – $1,352.19
S2 – $1,226.36
S3 – $1,145.72
S4 – $1,065.08