There were concerns, when word was revealed that online retail giant Amazon (AMZN) had landed the rights to the James Bond franchise. The concerns seemed confirmed, meanwhile, when Amazon recently altered art of the James Bond series to specifically focus on the firearms contained in the art. The move did not go well for Amazon shareholders, as shares slipped fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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James Bond Day was October 5, reports note, and Amazon called attention to the James Bond films accordingly. But reports noted that Bond had his teeth pulled, metaphorically, by having firearms removed from every picture. Amazon Prime Video artwork for Dr. No, for example, featured Bond with his arms crossed, but without the handgun he held in the original picture.
Outcry followed, and not long after that, memes. One particularly noteworthy example featured Pierce Brosnan in his GoldenEye art, but holding a submarine sandwich instead of a firearm. But the outcry got heated in some parts, with Scott McCrea declaring that the move was “…nothing less than cultural vandalism.” Others expressed deep concern for Bond’s future if Amazon was already casually disarming Bond throughout his career.
Cue Awkward Chuckling
Meanwhile, if you have ever seen an I Love Lucy bit where Lucy is caught doing something, and chuckles awkwardly in response, then you may have an idea of how Amazon felt recently. Its vice president of devices, Rob Williams, departed the company just days after showing off a string of new devices.
Williams decided to “retire from Amazon,” but any future plans were largely unavailable at the time. The announcement also served as a way to point out a few other major moves, including the move to incorporate the Alexa Smart Vehicle team into the broader Alexa concept.
Is Amazon a Good Long-Term Investment?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on AMZN stock based on 43 Buys assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 21.41% rally in its share price over the past year, the average AMZN price target of $267.88 per share implies 21.58% upside potential.
