Amazon.com price target raised to $176 from $142 at Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse analyst Stephen Ju raised the firm’s price target on Amazon.com (AMZN) to $176 from $142 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares ahead of quarterly results. With Google (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) having already reported and confirming ongoing client optimization activity, expectations of a growth inflection for AWS will have been pushed into the horizon, the firm says. With that in mind, inasmuch as the company is correct in its assessment of the on premise to cloud transition still at only 10%, “we are yet to enter the steeper part of the S-curve of adoption and the optionality remains for nonlinear growth amidst a recovery.” Credit Suisse does not wait for AWS’ growth rate to therefore trough but would rather increase exposure to Amazon’s shares now as the second derivative turn appears inevitable – particularly as the rate of deceleration had been moderating.