First brokerages predict Amazon will top $1 trillion in value

SEATTLE (Reuters) - Two major Wall Street brokerages were the first to value Amazon.com Inc  in excess of $1 trillion (725 billion pounds) after another set of blockbuster quarterly results for the online shopping behemoth. Analysts at Macquarie and Monnes, Crespi, Hardt and Co, respectively, raised their price targets to $2,100 and $2,200, valuing the company at $1.02 trillion and $1.07 trillion. Investors have been debating for months which of the United States’ tech sector heavyweights - Alphabet Inc , Apple Inc  and Amazon - would be first to top a $1 trillion. A rough ride over the past month sparked by the Cambridge Analytica scandal and broader weakness in the stock market had appeared to delay that milestone. But a more than doubling of profits in the first quarter by billionaire Jeff Bezos’ online retailer, and an 8 percent rise of its shares may put it back on the table. “We believe that even without margin expansion in core retail, the other businesses can drive significant profit growth over the coming years and will make AMZN the first trillion dollar company,” Macquaire analyst Benjamin Schachter said. Schachter is rated five stars for both his recommendations and estimates of Amazon, according to Thomson Reuters data.