Amazon bursts back into the trillion-dollar club as the stock rally allows Big Tech to retake top slots among most valued companies

• Amazon has returned to the trillion-dollar market-cap club as it continues to rebound after a dismal 2022.
• The boost to Amazon's market cap comes alongside the resurgence of Big Tech stocks this year.
• Securities firms including JMP, Truist and Evercore continue to predict further upside for the stock.

Amazon has reclaimed its place in the highly exclusive club of companies with market cap exceeding a trillion dollars, in a sign of Big Tech's resurgence that some analysts expect to extend.

Shares in the retail giant are up 18% this year, after a dire 2022 where prices fell 50% in the face of high inflation, rising interest rates and falling investor confidence. The Amazon stock traded around $99.20 at last check on Wednesday.

But six weeks into 2023, the economic sentiment has improved - fueling a stock-market rally - on the back of cooling inflation and astrong labor marketthat has tempered recent fears of an impending recession and its impact on consumer spending.

That, in turn, has helped investors shake off their fear of riskier assets, like tech stocks. Amazon's competitors like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Meta have all enjoyed strong rallies this year, reclaiming their places among the US's biggest companies after giving up their positions last year.

And despite Amazon's earnings for the fourth quarter missing expectations, analysts appear to have priced in a continued recovery for the retailer and its Big Tech peers this year.

Several securities firms are predicting further sizable gains the Amazon stock. According to data compiled by Benzinga, JMP Securities, Truist Securities and Evercore priced in upsides for the stock of 41.3%, 43.3% and 61.5% respectively last week, projecting Amazon's price target as high as $160.

That would take Amazon back toward highs reached in April 2022 before a stock-market selloff that saw the company shed more than half its value.

It's a sentiment echoed by other analysts. According to a collection of data put together by CNN, Amazon's share price has an average upside potential of 34.38% for an average price target of $135, with a high estimate of $164.

Still, headwinds persist for tech stocks that could put a halt to 2023's gains - the Fed could lift interest rates above its initial 5.1% target and inflation could kick in again as consumer sentiment rebounds.