Amazon Faces Rare Downgrade—Is the Rally at Risk?

Written by Sam Quirke

For months now, Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) has been one of the strongest performers among the mega-cap tech names. Shares are up roughly 40% since April, a rally driven by consistently strong earnings reports and near-unanimous support from Wall Street analysts. With equities broadly in risk-on mode and major indices hitting all-time highs, Amazon has thrived in the kind of environment where it historically performs best.

That backdrop makes the downgrade from Zacks Research towards the end of August all the more striking. Having previously rated Amazon a Strong Buy, Zacks cut its stance to Hold.

For context, this was the first downward move since February, when Phillip Securities shifted from Strong Buy to Moderate Buy. But even they stayed bullish at the time and stopped short of rating it a Hold.

According to MarketBeat’s Analyst Forecasts tool, investors would need to go all the way back to August of last year to find a comparable downgrade. The rarity of such a call is what makes it stand out so much, and investors should be asking themselves if this is just an anomaly or potentially the start of a major shift in analyst outlook.

Let’s jump in and take a closer look.

Why the Nerves?

Whenever there’s an update like this that goes against the grain, it naturally makes some investors nervous. Downgrades like this often raise questions about whether a stock’s rally is sustainable, or if there are new and unknown risks suddenly appearing.

To be sure, Amazon has plenty of headwinds, just like any other stock—its soaring expenditure on AI investments, for example, has worried investors who are unsure when those bets will pay off. The company is also more exposed than many of its peers to logistics challenges and geopolitical uncertainty, particularly the U.S. tariffs that have jolted markets several times this year.

These risks are real, and they have already weighed heavily on the stock at times. Amazon fell more than 30% between January and April, as investors digested these concerns.

But that selloff now looks like it priced in much of the downside. The stock’s recovery since April suggests Wall Street has already chewed through the worst of those worries, which makes Zack’s update all the more perplexing.

What the Chart Says About Amazon Stock

From a technical perspective, the stock is clearly in a bullish uptrend, but the next few weeks will still be critical. Amazon shares need to push through resistance around the $235 level if they’re going to have a fair chance of cracking February’s all-time high.

If Amazon clears it with conviction, its shares would be cruising into blue-sky territory. Failure to break out, however, could invite another test of August’s low around $210, and it’s perhaps this risk that has influenced Zacks’ decision to go neutral.

For now, momentum still favors the bulls. Amazon has been setting higher lows for weeks, and every dip has been bought quickly. If that pattern continues, the weight of the broader market rally and investor appetite for growth stocks should carry the stock higher.

Amazon’s Recent Gains Shrug Off Bearish Calls

It’s also worth remembering that Zacks remains the exception, not the rule, and the analyst community is overwhelmingly bullish. Many of the largest firms have reiterated Buy or Outperform ratings in recent weeks, often with price targets in the $280–$300 range.

For example, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Evercore continue to see Amazon as a top-tier pick. Multiple growth drivers in place should lead to further upside in the stock.

It remains to be seen how much weight Zacks’ downgrade carries, but given the stock’s already seen further gains since the bearish update, it’s looking more and more like it’s been shrugged off. Until a few more bulls switch over to the bear camp, it’s fair to expect the stock to keep going higher in the near term, not lower.

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CrowdStrike Tests $412 Support as Options Traders Turn Bullish

Written by Chris Markoch

CrowdStrike Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: CRWD) delivered a strong earnings report on Aug. 27. However, that wasn’t enough to slow down the sell-off in CRWD stock. As of Sept. 2, CrowdStrike stock is down 6.7% in the last five days, 7.6% in the last 30 days, and more than 13% in the last three months.

On the one hand, like many technology stocks, CRWD stock looked overvalued heading into earnings, so investors were prepared for the stock to drop on a miss or only a slight beat. That wasn’t the case with CrowdStrike.

The company delivered a strong report in which it indicated its annual recurring revenue (ARR) number won’t fully reflect the success of its customer retention program for several quarters.

That wasn’t enough to interrupt the slide in CRWD stock, which is primarily being driven by overvaluation concerns. However, with the stock’s relative strength indicator coming in around 38, could it be time for buyers to jump back in?

Options Traders Are Making Short-Term Bullish Bets

For now, the bears have the upper hand. However, the options chain for CRWD stock indicates that bulls are making a bullish bet on where the stock may go in the next couple of weeks.

The CrowdStrike options chain for Sept. 19 shows clear signs of bullish positioning. Out-of-the-money call options at strikes just above the current price (e.g., $420, $425, $430) are seeing unusually high volumes and open interest.

At the $430 call strike for Aug. 29, over 3,000 contracts are trading, while open interest also spikes at levels up to $450, indicating many traders expect a short-term rebound.

Implied volatility on these calls is elevated, a classic sign that traders are paying up for upside exposure, often anticipating either a technical bounce or a headline catalyst.

The corresponding put strikes (e.g., $400, $410) also show activity, but the weighting is heavily skewed toward calls, further supporting aggressive bullish sentiment.

Overall, call open interest above the current price dwarfs put activity, and the rapid rise in OTM call volume points to speculative bets on a sharp short-term move higher. This setup strongly supports the idea that bulls are making massive short-term bets on CRWD stock, particularly as it tests a key support zone.

Technical Signals Support a Short-Term Rally

As of this writing, CRWD stock is trading around its 200-day simple moving average (SMA) at around $412. This is after the stock knifed through its 50-day SMA at $459.45 before the earnings report.

However, with the relative strength indicator at 38, CRWD stock is starting to look oversold. However, traders may want to see higher volume and a more committed MACD signal to support a momentum-driven reversal.

If the stock drops below its 200-day SMA, investors will want to look for secondary support around $400. This is a psychologically important level that traders will watch closely.

But if the bulls are right, how high could CRWD stock climb? There appears to be strong resistance around $430 to $440. Beyond that, bulls would face resistance around the 50-day SMA ($459).

Overall, the technical outlook favors caution as CRWD tests major support amid weak trend signals, with swing traders and investors likely waiting for either a breakdown or decisive rebound before repositioning.

Analysts Paint a Mixed Post-Earnings Picture

As of this writing, it’s only been a few days since CrowdStrike’s earnings report. In that time, however, nearly two dozen analysts have weighed in on CRWD stock. The outlook is mixed.

Overall sentiment supports the consensus Moderate Buy rating, but price targets are all over the map. Oppenheimer has the most bullish target of $520, and Bernstein has the lowest price target at $343.

In percentage terms, the most bullish forecast is for an upside of approximately 13% from the stock’s consensus price target of $460.10. However, the most bearish number is approximately 31% below the consensus target.

Because analyst targets typically project 12 to 18 months, there’s a wide range of possible outcomes. While the long-term cybersecurity outlook supports holding CRWD as a buy-and-hold, short-term traders may prefer to wait for a confirmed rebound before taking action.

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Dueling Insider Moves: Heavy Buying Here, Big Selling There

Written by Leo Miller

Insiders have been making some notable moves when it comes to two stocks that are on the rise big-time. A large institutional investor is buying shares in one of these companies, showing confidence. On the flip side, a top name in tech is seeing major insider selling coming from the most important person at the company. Shares of this name are up more than 400% over the past 52 weeks.

Below, we’ll break down the insider trades happening in these two names and provide perspective on how bullish or bearish these signals are for investors.

REZI Sees Millions in Private Equity Buying

Resideo Technologies (NYSE: REZI) is a mid-cap building products stock that has soared recently. Since July 15, shares are up approximately 47%, and insiders are buying into the rally. Since July 25, major shareholder CD&R Channel Holdings II, L.P., has bought approximately $179 million worth of Resideo shares. Insider selling over that period comes in at just $4 million. CD&R is a private equity firm that owns over 10% of Resideo’s shares and likely knows the company inside and out.

Another CD&R investment, Foundation Building Materials (FBM), was recently boughtby Lowe’s Companies (NYSE: LOW) for $8.8 billion. FBM was originally taken private back in 2021 for just $1.4 billion, showing that the investment generated a massive return. Notably, CD&R did not join the investment until early 2024, meaning that they likely only captured a moderate portion of this return. However, FBM’s sale to Lowe’s still demonstrates that CD&R has significant expertise when it comes to investing in the building materials industry.

FMB’s success raises the possibility that Resideo could also get bought out for much more than it is currently worth, which could be a huge win for shareholders. Overall, CD&R’s purchases of Resideo are a significant bullish signal. Even if the firm doesn’t get bought out, the fact that CD&R is pouring millions more into this stock is a positive sign.

APP CEO Sells with Shares Near Highs: A Warning Sign for Investors?

Indisputably one of the best-performing tech stocks in the market recently is AppLovin (NASDAQ: APP). Shares are up nearly 48% in 2025 and up 444% over the past 52 weeks. On Aug. 29, shares of APP closed at nearly $479, only around 7% below their all-time high closing price. Interestingly, in the second half of August alone, MarketBeat data shows that a key insider has sold over $74 million worth of AppLovin shares. That insider is Arash Adam Foroughi, better known as Adam Foroughi, AppLovin’s co-founder and current Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Even when CEOs make them, the market often dismisses insider sales as non-issues. They frequently participate in predetermined stock sales plans, known as 10b5-1 plans. This makes it hard to say that 10b5-1 sales are indicative of where an insider sees their stock going. However, looking into Foroughi’s recent SEC Form 4 filings reveals an interesting detail. Foroughi made not a single one of his August sales under a 10b5-1 plan.

Overall, the Form 4 filings show that the vast majority of Foroughi’s recent sales are discretionary, not predetermined. The average selling price among these sales was approximately $419. These two facts cast a bearish undertone around Foroughi’s sales, suggesting that he wants to take profits when shares are around that level. Foroughi also made over $30 million in discretionary sales in February at around $410. However, his over $60 million in discretionary sales in May came in around the $365 price level, pushing back on the idea that he sees the +$400 range as selling territory.

Overall, Foroughi’s recent APP sales are moderately bearish signals for investors. Foroughi still owns over 10% of APP’s equity, indicating that he is still bullish on the stock long-term. However, the MarketBeat-tracked consensus price target on APP of around $478 implies shares are fairly valued. That’s another key signal for investors to consider. AppLovin is making a push into e-commerce advertising. Success could be big for the stock, but it also introduces risk as the firm enters a new market. AppLovin has traditionally made all its hay from advertising within mobile games.

Insider Insight Is Key, But Not Gospel

These insider trades are interesting signals for investors to consider. However, they are not crystal balls. Understanding Resideo and AppLovin beyond these signals is key to making an informed investment decision.

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