Shares of e-commerce giant Amazon Inc. (AMZN, Financial) were up over 1.57% in mid-morning trading on Thursday as the online retailer amped up its marketing efforts for Prime Day. The company's shares were trading around $1,782.88.
Amazon's shares are up over 3% since July 9.
Amazon's rally comes as a result of city contracts, preparation for the company's Prime Day sales and Canaccord Genuity naming the company the "most robust" FANG stock. Canaccord put Amazon ahead of Facebook (FB, Financial), Netflix (NFLX, Financial) and Alphabet (GOOGL, Financial), saying the company has the most "durable growth outlook."
Canaccord also boosted its price target for Amazon from $1,800 to $2,000 per share on expectations of stronger revenue than previously estimated. The company is expected to release its earnings report on July 26.
Amazon started the week off with an announcement it has signed contracts with the Mesa, Arizona police department as well as the Atlanta and Denver public schools to buy books, musical instruments and office supplies from Amazon.
The contracts are expected to be worth billions of dollars in the coming years.
Amazon signed a contract in 2017 with U.S. Communities that allows for government agencies and municipalities to negotiate contracts with the company. The five-year contract is valued at $500 million, with the option to extend the contract up to 11 years.
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance says the contract is bad for local businesses, shifting public dollars away from independent suppliers, national chains and local stores to Amazon.
Amazon rebuts the claims, stating it supports local businesses, which are allowed to use the Amazon Business marketplace to push sales to local governments.
The contract does not include price guarantees or discounts, which could cause cities to spend more on supplies while boosting Amazon's overall revenue.
Amazon's stock also rallied on Thursday following the announcement of back-to-school and off-to-college sales that are taking place on Prime Day. The company will be offering deals on furniture, décor, laptops, shoes, clothing, backpacks, notebooks, pencils and a variety of other items needed by students.
The company will be providing discounts for AmazonBasics products, up to 30% for office supplies.
Amazon will also offer up to 40% discounts on Levi's denim styles, 50% for kids and baby apparel and deals for college students, including 50% off apparel, 30% off select laptops, monitors and routers and 30% off many furniture items.
Amazon's stock is up over 47% since the start of the year.
Disclosure: Writer does not have any stakes in the listed equities.
