Amazon stock nears 14-year losing streak amid rising inflation concerns

The shares of Amazon.com Inc. slumped toward their longest weekly losing streak in 14 years on Friday, amid concerns about a slowdown in consumer spending and the impact of rising inflation.

Citigroup C removed Amazon from its Focus List because of the concerns. AMZN, the stock, fell 1.9% in afternoon trading, reversing its intraday gain of as much as 2.4% earlier in the session.

The stock was heading for an eighth straight week's decline, with the stock down 6.9% for the week. That would be the longest weekly losing streak since the 10 week stretch ended March 7, 2008, and would be the longest weekly losing streak since the 10 week stretch. The stock has been hit hard due to rising inflation and slowing demand, along with increasing freight and delivery costs. Hochul filing a complaint against Amazon alleging discrimination against pregnant workers and workers with disabilities. Amazon's stock plunged 36.1% during its currently weekly loss streak, the worst 8 week performance since it fell 36.3% during the period ending November 28, 2008. Citigroup analyst Ronald Josey believes that Amazon can gain more retail market share in the current challenging macro environment, especially as the mega sales event Prime Day approaches in July, he has to recognize that the company will be hurt by weak consumer demand and higher costs. Josey reiterated his buy rating and $4,100 price target on Amazon's stock, which is nearly doubled up 95% from current levels, and said it remained a top pick across the internet sector. He removed the stock from Citi's North America Focus List, citing macroeconomic uncertainty and lack of near-term catalysts. In a note to clients, Josey wrote that if consumer demand is decelerated meaningfully due to macro, we believe Amazon is going to be hurt. We believe Amazon can gain more wallet share during this period, given its focus on convenience, and we note faster delivery times. Amazon's stock has fallen 36.9% year to date, while the SPDR Consumer Discretionary Select Sector exchange-traded fund XLY has slid 33.0% and the S&P 500 index SPX has shed 19.8%.