Amazon Stock Is Moving Higher Wednesday: What's Going On?

Amazon.com Inc AMZN shares are trading higher Wednesday after the company was selected to join the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA).

What To Know: S&P Dow Jones Indices has announced that Amazon will replace Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc WBA in the DJIA, effective ahead of the market open on Feb. 26. Walgreens has been included in the Dow Jones since 2018, when it replaced GE.

“Reflecting the evolving nature of the American economy, this change will increase consumer retail exposure as well as other business areas in the DJIA,” S&P Dow Jones Indices said in the press release.

The change in the index was prompted by Walmart's 3:1 split announcement, which will reduce Walmart's index weighting due to the index's price-weighted nature. Walmart will remain in the DJIA.

S&P Dow Jones Indices also announced that Uber will replace JetBlue Airways in the Dow Jones Transportation Average to help the index gain exposure to the ride-sharing industry.

The DJIA is a price-weighted index consisting of 30 stocks. It’s one of the oldest and best-known measures of stock market performance, dating all the way back to 1896.

Check This Out: Amazon Replacing Walgreens In Dow Jones Industrial Might Not Be A Great Thing: ‘Will History Repeat Itself?’

How To Buy AMZN Stock

By now you're likely curious about how to participate in the market for Amazon – be it to purchase shares, or even attempt to bet against the company.

Buying shares is typically done through a brokerage account. You can find a list of possible trading platforms here. Many will allow you to buy ‘fractional shares,' which allows you to own portions of stock without buying an entire share. For example, some stock, like Berkshire Hathaway, or Amazon, can cost thousands of dollars to own just one share. However, if you only want to invest a fraction of that, brokerages will allow you to do so.

In the the case of Amazon, which is trading at approximately $168.45 as of publishing time, $100 would buy you 0.59 shares of stock.

If you're looking to bet against a company, the process is more complex. You'll need access to an options trading platform, or a broker who will allow you to ‘go short' a share of stock by lending you the shares to sell. The process of shorting a stock can be found at this resource. Otherwise, if your broker allows you to trade options, you can either buy a put option, or sell a call option at a strike price above where shares are currently trading – either way it allows you to profit off of the share price decline.

AMZN Price Action: Amazon shares were up 0.82% at $168.45 at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of Amazon.