AMZN – Amazon (Last:620.00)

Why one earth would anyone be short AMZNThe 629 rally target projected here two months ago, when AMZN was trading for around 532, turns out to have been too conservative. In after-hours trading Thursday evening, the stock has taken a $71 leap to a so-far high of 635. So much for the supposed collective omniscience of investors. The 12.6% gain comes on the heels of stage-managed weakness earlier in the week that maneuvered the stock down from 579 to 553. Anyone the least bit familiar with Amazon’s earnings history would have recognized the selloff as a bear trap. Amazon is, after all, a company that is slowly reshaping the retail world to its increasing advantage. Even so, any stock that can jump $71 points in the blink of an eye, as AMZN has done tonight, is manifestly attracting more than a few shorts. They’re sucking wind now. Perhaps in three months, when Q4 earnings are about to be released, they’ll know better.