Topic: Growth Stocks

AMAZON.COM $373.23 – Nasdaq symbol AMZN

AMAZON.COM $373.23 (Nasdaq symbol AMZN; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk) (206-266-1000; www.amazon.com; Shares outstanding: 459.3 million; Market cap: $172.4 billion; No dividends paid) has raised the price of its Amazon Prime service to $99 a year from $79. This is the first price hike since the company launched Prime in 2005.

The fee gets customers two-day shipping on all their purchases. U.S. members also get two additional free services: Amazon Instant Video, which boasts 180,000 titles, and the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which lets users borrow a free book each month from the thousands of titles Kindle offers.

It’s uncertain how many—or if any—Prime members will cancel after the price increase. But while the company hasn’t said how many Prime subscribers it has, the number is likely over 20 million. So the hike could increase its annual revenue by up to $400 million. Amazon had revenue of $74.5 billion in 2013.

The company’s long-term outlook is positive, but the stock trades at a very high 138.2 times this year’s forecast earnings of $2.70 a share. This high p/e adds a lot of risk. If the company loses momentum, it could result in a huge downturn for the stock.

Amazon is still a hold.

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