Amazon.com Nears Major Breakout

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) has been treading water since topping out above 3,500 in September 2020 but is nearing completion of a major breakout pattern, just in time for this year’s Prime Day. While the two events aren’t really connected, the convergence signals better times for shareholders of the e-commerce juggernaut because the pattern projects a strong uptrend that could eventually top 5,000.

New Revenue Sources

The stock posted a phenomenal 76% return in 2020, underpinned by pandemic lockdowns that forced smaller competitors to close their doors or rush to upgrade online sales portals. The rally ran out of steam in September, giving way to a broad rectangular pattern that’s now carved the outline of an inverse head and shoulder breakout pattern. Taken together with price action since 2018, the current uptick could signal the start of the final leg of an Elliot 5-wave advance.

Amazon initiatives unrelated to online sales could generate substantial income in coming years. For starters, it just signed contracts with multiple companies to provide telehealth services through Amazon Care, which will dovetail nicely with the new Amazon Pharmacy online prescription fulfillment service. It’s also working with the U.S. Postal Service to deliver cargo and could soon compete directly with FedEx Corp. (FDX) and United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS).

Wall Street and Technical Outlook

Wall Street consensus hasn’t budged in the last three months, with a ‘Buy’ rating based upon 42 ‘Buy’, 6 ‘Overweight’, and 1 ‘Hold” recommendation. No analysts are recommending that shareholders close positions, despite last year’s outsized share gains. Price targets currently range from a low of $3,775 to a Street-high $5,500 while the stock is set to open Monday’s session more than $275 below the low target. This is a perfect placement for a rapid escalation to the upside.

Amazon broke out above the 2018 high near 2,000 in April 2020 and took off in a strong uptrend that posted an all-time high at 3,552.25 in September. The stock then entered a lateral consolidation, holding two tests at support near 2,850. It returned to resistance in April and pulled back, carving the last leg of an inverse head and shoulders pattern, and is now trading just 60 points below resistance. Taken together with emerging buy cycles, this price action greatly raises odds for a breakout.

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Disclosure: the author held no positions in aforementioned securities at the time of publication.