Mid Day Report On Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) rose over 1% to $228.95 along with a solid gain in the broader technology sector.
Owners of Amazon.com Inc’s Kindle e-readers and tablets will be able to borrow Harry Potter e-books in a move designed to encourage more people to use the devices and sign up for the company’s Prime service.
Amazon, the world’s largest Internet retailer, said on Thursday it bought an exclusive license from author J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore e-book business to make all seven Harry Potter e-books available to borrow through the Kindle platform.
The program begins June 19 and includes Potter e-books in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.
The stock have been consolidating over the past couple of weeks following a single day gain of about 17% after the company reported mush stronger than anticipated first quarter earnings. Shares of AMZN climbed 15.75% on April 26, 2012 and recently made a high of $233.84. The stock has corrected about 5.50% from its recent peak as the broader markets slumped in Europe fears.
For the first quarter, the company posted net income of $130 million, or 28 cents per share, down from a year ago profit of $201 million, or 44 cents per share a year ago, but may not be comparable to an estimated 6 cents by average analysts. Revenue during the latest quarter stood at $13.18 billion, an increase of 34% year-over-year, again ahead of street’s estimate by $0.27 billion. The online commerce giant said its Kindle Fire tablet computer was its best-selling item and helped lift revenue from digital movies and books.
For the current quarter, the company projects to generate revenue within a range of $11.9 billion to $13.3 billion, which is below the average $12.85 billion estimate. Operating income in this current quarter is expected to fall from 80% to 229%, year over year, to a range of $40 million to a $260 million loss, compared to analysts forecast of $267.5 million, a 30% decline, or $152 million on a GAAP basis.