Amazon Stock Surges on Higher Price Target From Evercore

Amazon's stock jumped by 3% on Friday after analyst Mark Mahaney of Evercore ISI raised his price target for Amazon.com (AMZN) to $355 from $315. This increase in valuation is based on several retail trends that could support the shares, according to Mahaney.

Mahaney pointed to findings from Evercore ISI's latest U.S. online retail survey, which found that 57% of Alexa AI users bought products they had not previously known about. Additionally, Amazon's retail reach stood at 92%, maintaining a 34-point lead over Walmart.

The analyst also noted that the adoption of same-day delivery is improving, with regular usage reaching 49%. Furthermore, Prime members using the service spend 3.1 times more than non-Prime users. The survey also showed that 46% of respondents exposed to Amazon's fresh-grocery checkout feature added perishable items to their carts.

Evercore's higher target suggests room for further gains, although Amazon's market penetration has eased from last year's 95%. Mahaney kept a Buy rating on AMZN shares.