Stock Market Today, Oct. 19: Amazon Surges on Morgan Stanley Top Pick and $350 Price Target

On October 19, Amazon's stock surged following a top pick designation from Morgan Stanley and an upgraded price target of $350. The e-commerce giant, a global platform for online retail, cloud computing, and digital advertising, saw its shares rise to $262.45, marking a 4.98% increase from the previous close. This boost was attributed to Amazon Web Services (AWS) growth and its potential in the upcoming October 29 earnings report.

Trading volume for Amazon's stock reached 54.5 million shares, slightly above its three-month average of 38.9 million shares.

The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite both closed at 7,691 and 26,431 respectively, reflecting a 0.42% and 1.11% rise. In the retail sector, Walmart's stock dipped 0.09% to $118.70, while Microsoft's share price rose 0.84% to $533.52.

Morgan Stanley's decision to name Amazon a top pick and increase its target price was driven by the company's strong position in AI. The Wall Street firm identified five key drivers for the stock's upward trajectory, including AWS's projected growth and its AI-focused Bedrock platform. The company's AWS revenue grew 37% year-over-year to $42.2 billion in the second quarter, the fastest growth in 18 quarters.

As investors eagerly await Amazon's Q3 2026 earnings report on October 29, they remain cautious due to potential litigation and regulatory risks.