Amazon shares close higher on Wednesday, warehouses in France to be closed until May 18th, company says

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN) said earlier this week that its 6 warehouses in France would remain closed until May 18th.

The warehouses have been closed since April 16th after Amazon was ordered to restrain deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amazon shares closed higher for the eighth time in the past ten trading sessions on NASDAQ on Wednesday. The stock went up 0.47% ($10.97) to $2,367.92, after touching an intraday low at $2,339.85, or a price level not seen since May 6th ($2,320.00).

Shares of Amazon.com Inc have risen 28.15% so far in 2020 compared with a 12.71% loss for the benchmark index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2019, Amazon’s stock went up 23.03%, thus, it underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 28.88% gain.

“Our fulfilment centres are safe. However, the potential penalty outlined by the Versailles Court of Appeal means that even a rate of 0.1% of handling or shipping items that are not included in the judgement could lead to a fine of more than a billion euros per week,” Amazon said in a statement, cited by Reuters.

“Unfortunately, this means we have no option but to keep our fulfilment centres in France temporarily closed. We therefore anticipate a further extension of the temporary closure until May 18,” the e-commerce giant also said.

Analyst stock price forecast and recommendation

According to CNN Money, the 45 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Amazon.com Inc’s stock price, have a median target of $2,700.00, with a high estimate of $3,000.00 and a low estimate of $1,840.00. The median estimate represents a 14.02% upside compared to the closing price of $2,367.92 on May 13th.

The same media also reported that at least 40 out of 48 surveyed investment analysts had rated Amazon.com Inc’s stock as “Buy”, while 3 – as “Hold”. On the other hand, 2 analysts had recommended selling the stock.