When it comes to the world of celebrity endorsements, there is none better than a thumbs up review from the queen of talk.
And for Amazon CEO, Jeff Bezos, Oprah Winfrey's ringing endorsement of his latest version of the Kindle had to be music to his ears.
Commenting on the new hot device, Oprah hit the equivalent of the grand slam for Bezos, revealing that the new e-book reader was her "favorite new gadget" and exclaiming the Kindle was not only "life-changing" but also "the wave of the future."
Since then, of course, the Kindle has become something of the hot new toy among readers everywhere, helping to boost Amazon stock―even in the face of an economic downturn.
The Kindle, it seems, has since gone mainstream.
In fact, according to some analysts, it wouldn't be surprising to see Kindle's estimated 350,000 unit sales hitting one million this year as the popularity of the device grows.
So, what is the Kindle you ask?
Well, in a sense, it is for readers what the iPod has become for music lovers everywhere. It's a slimmed-down e-book reader capable of storing thousands of books, magazines, or newspapers, making a portable library for its users.
And as with the iTunes store, users can choose to download discounted copies of books, magazines, and newspapers from the Amazon book store, choosing from over 260,000 titles.
So, in short, it is something of an evolutionary product in a world where everything has suddenly gone digital―even all of those paperback books readers love to collect.
That has helped to boost sales at the retail giant, as it maintains its position as a large-cap growth stock in the e-commerce/tech sector.
Of course, maintaining its near 20% growth rate hasn't been much of a problem for the Seattle-based company so far, even in the face of down-beaten consumers.
In fact, the company actually managed to blow out its earnings in the 4th quarter last year with a 33% earnings surprise that sent shares of the company markedly higher in January. Since then, shares of the company have jumped by over 122% of their November lows.
Meanwhile, looking ahead to the first quarter of fiscal 2009, Amazon expects sales in the range of $4.5 billion to $4.9 billion. This would represent an increase of 9% to 19% over the same quarter of fiscal 2008. Not bad for a bear market.
Of course, with Amazon now set to report earnings again during the week of April 23, it has become something of a "make or break" moment for the company, as it looks to extend its current run.
That has given the company a certain layer of doubt, leaving investors to worry about how Amazon's sales will measure up, since it's always about winning the expectations game on the Street.
And in a free six-page report, The Wealth Advisory research team has broken down the tech giant, answering the question on every investor's mind these days. . .
Is Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) a Buy, Sell, or Hold?
In this free report, Wealth Daily subscribers will receive:
The results from The Wealth Advisory's proprietary scoring model
A buy, sell, or hold recommendation.
A 12-month Price Target along with a current Stop/Loss
A technical and fundamental analysis of the company's share price.
And much more. . .
To receive a free download of this report and our Buy, Sell, or Hold recommendation for Amazon.com Inc.
I hope you enjoy your free Amazon.com report. I'll be publishing many more of these in the weeks to come. . .
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