The board of directors of online retailer Amazon approved a 20-for-1 stock split, as well as $10 billion repurchase of common stock.
The stock repurchase replaces a previous $5 billion stock repurchase authorization approved in 2016, under which the company has repurchased $2.12 billion of its shares.
Amazon saw its share price rise significantly in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic going from $1904 per share in January 2020 to $3569 per share in July 2021. Since then it has declined from that high to the current level of $2920 per share.
Despite this decline analysts remain confident in Amazon’s underlying fundamentals.
“We continue to rate Amazon as our top FANG and large-cap internet stock for 2022,” Bank of America tech analyst Justin Post said in the banks recent Global Research report. “Amazon’s profit outlook is improving as the COVID impact on labor and supply chain subsides.”