Have you thought about adding Amazon stocks/shares to your portfolio? Well, that’s a pretty good plan as Amazon stocks have continued to appreciate in value, making investors a ton of money. Now, the big question is, how do you go about investing in Amazon shares? Plus, which are the best exchanges for investing in Amazon shares? Read on as we will cover everything about buying Amazon stocks online.
We will also take things up a notch by highlighting some exchanges where you can buy Amazon stocks online. But before we jump into all the juicy details, let’s give you some little background about Amazon.
Amazon overview
Amazon is a leading e-commerce and cloud computing company. Since the company launched many years ago, they have continued to gain traction and appeal to more and more people. The company’s success is rooted in making it easy for its teeming customer to buy products online quickly and hassle-free.
Amazon is one of the very few companies out there with over a $1 trillion valuation. In June this year, the company initiated a 20-for-1 stock split. This meant that current investors received 20 shares for every share they owned. Even though this means that investors have more shares, the value of their shares remains the same. Following Amazon’s stock split move, new investors can now buy the company’s shares significantly lower. Before the split, Amazon stock was trading for around $2000 per stock.
Investing in Amazon stock is as easy as buying products on the Amazon store and we will show you how to go about it later in this post.
Why you should invest in Amazon stocks now
There are a lot of reasons why anyone should invest in Amazon stocks now. To start with, Amazon recently reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings, outperforming multiple forecasts from some of Wall Street’s finest analysts. Between July to August this year, the company shares soared by over 24%.
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That said, the company’s stocks still have some room for more growth, following some of the company’s latest acquisitions.
It was recently reported that Amazon purchased subscription-based healthcare company, 1Life Healthcare, also known as One Medical. The deal, which was reportedly worth $3.9 billion, will see Amazon venture into the healthcare industry, a niche the company has been courting for a while now.
The deal has been dubbed a match made in heaven by analysts, especially considering One Medical’s mission, along with Amazon’s unique resources, which will no doubt boost the company.
Apart from sojourning into the health Industry, Amazon also recently announced the acquisition of iRobot, in a deal reportedly worth over $1.7 billion. This deal has been hailed in many quarters, especially because it fits into Amazon’s current product lineup.
Amazon has continued to expand its business into the smart home industry, with many of its flagship products including alarm clocks, smart speakers, security cameras, and thermostats, doing particularly well. While iRobot’s incredibly popular vacuums have brought in a ton of revenue, Amazon can bring in its highly experienced team of robotic experts to improve the products greatly.
With all these moves, investors can expect Amazon shares to continue to appreciate now and in the near future. So if you’re wondering whether it is a good move to buy some Amazon shares, our answer is, there is no better time than now to add Amazon stocks to your portfolio.
Things you should do before investing in Amazon shares
As we mentioned right from the get-go, Amazon shares have continued to appreciate, making investors a ton of many. But while the company’s shares continue to show a lot of promise, we always encourage investors to do their due diligence before investing in any shares. So before putting your hard-earned money in Amazon stocks, here are some things you should do:
Do your research
We understand the craze to want to own shares in companies like Amazon. That said, what you know about the company from a consumer standpoint is quite different from what you know as an investor. What we simply mean here is that you shouldn’t base your decision to buy Amazon shares based on current pricing or past performance.
Instead, we encourage investors to focus on scrutinizing Amazon’s merits as an investment. This will entail scrutinizing the company’s net income and earnings, management, revenue, and more.
Besides that, you should also consider whether buying Amazon stocks is great for your portfolio. Of course, your answer will depend on your current financial situation, investment goals, and current holdings.
Decide whether investing in Amazon stock is a good decision
You can find Amazon’s current share price by searching for Amazon’s trading ticker, AMZN on an online broker, or a financial information website.
Before you decide to buy some Amazon shares, here are some things we would love you to consider:
How will you achieve diversification: Investing in individual stocks is risky because they lack diversification. Assuming a company you invest in suffers a rough patch, your portfolio will take a hit. To be on the safe side, we always recommend investing in low-risk mutual funds like index funds. This makes it easy for you to diversify your portfolio and lower your investment risks.
What are your future investment goals: It’s always great to invest on a regular basis. The name for such an investment strategy is dollar-cost averaging. This strategy entails investing specific amounts at standard intervals. So instead of investing all your money at once into Amazon shares, we suggest you take the dollar cost averaging approach. This will ensure you don’t pay exorbitant prices for stocks and shares.
Decide how much you’d like to invest in Amazon
One of the most important things to consider before buying Amazon stocks is how much money you’d like to invest. The answer isn’t necessarily the same as how much money you have available. The reason for this is that the stock market is seen as a long-term investment and experts always discourage individuals from buying stocks with money they would typically need in the next couple of years.
Before investing in any individual stocks, it’s always wise to have an adequate emergency fund. More so, ensure that you’re saving for important short-term goals.
If you’re pretty new to the stocks market and have a small amount to play with, we strongly recommend investing in fractional shares. By investing in fractional shares, you’ll be able to purchase a piece of share, based on a specific amount you’d like to invest.
Let’s assume you have $100, and you’d like to invest in Amazon shares. By leveraging the fractional shares approach, you can invest as little as $10 at a time. While not all online brokers support fractional shares, you can explore fractional shares with brokers like eToro.
Open a brokerage account
Before you can start buying Amazon stocks/shares, you’ll need to have a brokerage account. Thankfully, the process is super easy, especially with many of the top online brokers like eToro, Admiral Markets, AvaTrade, Plus500, Fidelity and more making it easy for users to sign up for an account.
Signing up for an account on an online broker like eToro takes less than 15 minutes. The process is pretty similar to opening a savings or checking account. If you have the money to buy a single share or more of Amazon, you’ll be surprised at the options available to you. That said, look out for brokers with low or no commissions, useful tools for research, and excellent customer service.
Also, if you’re hell-bent on investing in Amazon stocks but don’t have the money for a full share, you can sign up for brokers like eToro who offer fractional shares. This option lets you buy a portion of one share of Amazon.
Buy Amazon stocks
Now to the part you have been eagerly waiting for: how to buy Amazon stocks. Once you have setup up a brokerage account and made up your mind on how much you’d like to invest, it’s time to add some Amazon stocks to your portfolio.
Keep in mind that the price of a stock is determined by its bid-ask spread. For those just learning about the bid-ask spread, it essentially means the difference between the price buyers are willing to pay and the price sellers are willing to accept. And just so you know, the bid-ask spread isn’t static as it changes throughout each trading day. That said, it’s important not to get caught up in your quest to get the lowest price to the penny.
When buying Amazon stock, you’d have to do so via your preferred broker or trading platform. You’d typically be requested to choose an order type. This will determine when and how your Amazon stock order will be executed.
While most online brokers have a variety of order types, you’ll be okay with these two order options: a market order and a limit order.
- A market order executes your trade in real-time. This is a good option for buy-and-hold investors. Keep in mind that what you pay may slightly differ from the price you saw when executing the order. And the reason is that a market order prioritizes time. So your trades will typically be executed quickly, based on the best available price.
- A limit order is a brilliant option for investors who are more worried about price than speed. With a limit order, your trade will only be executed if the stock price reaches the level you set. Limit orders are great for wild market swings. Unfortunately, there are chances that your order may not be executed, so you might end up missing a good opportunity.
How to buy Amazon stocks on eToro
Thanks to the rise of online brokers like eToro, it’s now easier than ever before to invest in top companies like Amazon and Google. If you have been thinking about buying some Amazon stocks, you’ll be happy to learn that eToro makes the process seamless and hassle-free.
eToro kicked off operation in 2007 and has become a force to reckon with in the online brokerage space. The platform currently boasts over 10 million active users. eToro is licensed to operate in Cyprus, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
While eToro provides a reliable platform for buying and selling stocks, they also allow users to invest in other financial instruments. Here is how anyone can buy Amazon stock on eToro:
Create an eToro account
New customers looking to buy Amazon shares on eToro have to create a new account, which is simple and only takes a couple of minutes. Existing customers only have to log into their accounts.
When signing up for an eToro account, you’ll typically only have to provide basic information like name, email address, and phone number. That said, if you want to deposit money and start trading, you’ll have to provide additional information. This is needed to verify your identity.
Complete your eToro profile
This step is only for people opening an account on eToro for the first time. So if you already have an eToro account, you can skip this process.
For new users, you’ll need to complete your eToro profile before you can start trading. This information is needed so eToro can comply with AML and CTF regulations. And yes, this process only takes a couple of minutes, so it won’t waste your time.
Fund your trading account
After you must have completed all the relevant verification, the next thing to do is fund your trading account.
The current minimum deposit for eToro is $200 or its equivalent in other supported currencies. eToro currently supports over seven deposit methods, making it easy for users to fund their trading accounts.
Some of the popular deposit options on eToro include credit or debit cards, wire transfer, UnionPay, Skrill, Paypal, Neteller, and WebMoney.
As with most investments, only invest money you’re comfortable losing
Tip: If you’re not fully convinced or you don’t feel ready to invest real money, you can test the waters with eToro’s virtual portfolio feature. This option lets you trade your favorite stocks without putting in real money. And as you gain experience and feel more comfortable, you can switch to a real portfolio.
Buy AMZN stock
With your account now funded, you can start trading stocks on eToro. While you can buy a stock on eToro, you also have the option to short it. All these depend on your sentiment on market direction. That said, here is how you can buy Amazon stock (AMZN) on eToro.
Head over to the unique search bar located at the top of the eToro interface. Enter the name of the ticker associated with the stocks you want to buy in this case, AMZN. Besides providing you with the price chart, you’ll also be able to see important information about Amazon stock, including income statements, balance sheets, and more. eToro takes things up a notch by providing some research for your preferred stocks.
Finally, click the “Trade” button to place your order for AMZN stock. You should see a new window pop up where you will be able to tweak all the parameters for your trade.
That wasn’t so hard, was it?
