More Trump tweets are coming, but unlikely to hurt Amazon's growth, says Piper - InvestingChannel

More Trump tweets are coming, but unlikely to hurt Amazon’s growth, says Piper

Piper Jaffray analyst Michael Olson believes President Trump’s tweets will have little impact on Amazon’s growth trajectory. The analyst maintains an Overweight rating on the shares with a $1,650 price target. The stock closed yesterday down $75.35, or 5%, to $1,371.99. It is unlikely that the Post Office will materially raise rates for Amazon deliveries, given Amazon would likely shift to alternative shipping options, Olson tells investors in a research note titled “Nothing Can Be Certain, Except Death & Taxes…and More Trump Tweets on AMZN.” Further, the analyst believes sales tax collection changes would have limited impact on consumer use of Amazon and could actually help Amazon’s relative competitive positioning in domestic e-commerce. Olson surveyed 2,000 U.S. consumers and asked them what is most important to them when shopping online. He found that only 5% of Americans see sales tax amount as a critical factor when deciding where to buy. Other components, such as shipping and returns, product selection and website familiarity rank “significantly higher for nearly all in our survey,” the analyst points out. Nevertheless, Olson expects more chatter out of the White House on Amazon throughout Trump’s time in office.