Amazon Stock Jumps 20% After Cramer Suggests It’s a Better Investment Than Microsoft

TLDR

• Shares of Amazon closed at $250.56, sitting just 1.4% below its all-time record closing high of $254.
• The stock has climbed 20% in April, and closed higher in nine of the past 10 trading sessions.
• Truist lifted its price target to $285, projecting 25% AWS revenue growth in the first quarter.
• TD Cowen’s John Blackledge reiterated a Buy rating with a $300 price target.
• Amazon has agreed to acquire Globalstar for roughly $12 billion, and signed a satellite connectivity deal with Apple.

---

(SeaPRwire) –   Amazon has quietly put together one of its strongest performance stretches in recent months. The stock closed at $250.56 on Friday — its highest level since November 3, 2025 — and now sits just 1.4% below its all-time record close of $254.

Amazon.com, Inc., ticker AMZN

This upward run has been steady rather than flashy. AMZN has closed higher in nine of the last 10 trading sessions, and is up 20% in April alone. Year-to-date, the stock has gained roughly 8.6%.

With Q1 earnings set to release on April 29, Wall Street’s attention is fully focused on Amazon. Consensus estimates point to an EPS of $1.63 — a slight improvement from $1.59 in the same period last year — and total revenue of around $177 billion, marking roughly 14% year-over-year growth.

Truist analyst Youssef Squali raised his price target on Friday to $285, up from $280, while keeping his Buy rating intact. He forecasts 25% AWS revenue growth in Q1, an acceleration from 23% growth in Q4 2024, driven by a growing set of AI partnerships including OpenAI and Anthropic.

Squali also expects North America marketplace sales to grow around 10% year-over-year, describing macro headwinds like higher fuel costs as “manageable” if their impact ends up being short-lived.

Jim Cramer shared his take this weekend, calling Amazon “ascendant” and contrasting it with Microsoft, which he described as what “people are calling a chronic underperformer.” He suggested Amazon is the better buy right now, given its strong growth trajectory versus growing concerns over slowing revenue at Microsoft.

Analysts Have Their Sights Set on $300

TD Cowen’s John Blackledge, a 5-star analyst, reiterated a Buy rating and a $300 price target — roughly 20% above Friday’s closing price. He expects Q1 revenue to come in slightly above Street estimates, with operating income running about 4% ahead of consensus forecasts.

Blackledge points to high-margin advertising revenue and AWS as the key earnings drivers, alongside continued improvements in fulfillment efficiency.

For Q2 2026, his estimates are 1.5% above Wall Street’s consensus for revenue and 5% above for operating income — suggesting he expects further AWS growth acceleration ahead.

Across Wall Street, Amazon holds a Strong Buy consensus rating based on 42 Buy ratings and just 3 Hold ratings. The average analyst price target stands at $284.77, implying roughly 14% upside from current price levels.

In Q4 2025, AWS grew revenue 24% year-over-year. CEO Andy Jassy called it the unit’s “fastest growth in 13 quarters” — a metric analysts are relying on as they build their Q1 forecasting models.

Amazon Makes a Strategic Move in Satellite

Beyond upcoming earnings, Amazon made a major strategic play this week. On Tuesday, the company announced an agreement to acquire Globalstar for $90 per share — valuing the satellite company at just under $12 billion.

The deal positions Amazon to build its own space-based broadband network, allowing it to enter a market currently led by Elon Musk’s Starlink.

Amazon also signed an agreement with Apple to provide satellite connectivity for current and future iPhone and Apple Watch features. That arrangement was made possible through an existing Globalstar deal that Apple already had in place.

The average Wall Street price target of $284.77 represents roughly 14% upside from AMZN’s most recent close of $250.56.