We’re all used to e-commerce giant Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) bringing us anything and everything—or close to it—that we could ask for and right to our homes. Now, it’s one step closer to eliminating the “close to it” part with a new prescription delivery option. The incremental improvement in an already impressive operation met with a tepid response, and shares increased fractionally in Tuesday afternoon’s trading.
The new prescription delivery service will see those with various prescription medications have them delivered by Amazon the same day they’re ordered. While the service will only be available in New York City and Los Angeles to start with, Amazon looks to have the pilot program running in more than a dozen different cities before 2025 dawns.
Amazon getting involved in pharmaceuticals isn’t new; it’s had an online pharmacy service since 2020 that allowed for home delivery of medications. But now, the medications will be delivered on the day they’re ordered instead of there being a lag.
Looking to Its Future
This is an exciting enough step, even if it’s likely to put a lot of pressure on hometown pharmacies, which may find themselves competing against Amazon’s same-day service down the line. But Amazon is also working to move itself forward in other areas. For instance, it’s building a new education function around artificial intelligence (AI), trying to get more tools into the hands of those whose jobs may be on the chopping block someday thanks to AI.
It’s also fighting the National Labor Relations Board, declaring its existence “unconstitutional,” as that same board limits Amazon’s ability to use independent contractors for things like delivering those prescriptions mentioned previously.
Is Amazon Stock a Buy or Sell Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on AMZN stock based on 41 Buys assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After an 83.62% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AMZN price target of $209.59 per share implies 16.38% upside potential.
