Amazon's AWS To Invest $20M For Faster Coronavirus Testing

Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) cloud unit Amazon Web Services (AWS) has come up with a new program to help the society to better combat the coronavirus pandemic.

AWS is investing $20 million to speed up the development of faster COVID-19 testing. Notably, AWS has announced a new program named AWS Diagnostic Development Initiative.

This program is aimed at accelerating diagnostic research and development in a bid to speed up the detection of COVID-19. The speedy and accurate detection of this virus will likely result in accelerated treatments and shorten the course of this epidemic.

The program will be available to all private entities and accredited research institutions that are using the AWS platform to bring in better and more accurate diagnostic solutions to the market. In addition, it plans to promote more effective collaboration between organizations working on the treatment of other infectious diseases.

Amazon strives to manage this pandemic situation with this new program by accelerating the testing process.

With the latest effort, the company is aiming to reduce the risk of further spreading the virus, which has become the need of the hour. We believe the new AWS initiative is a major positive in this coronavirus-induced global crisis. This is likely to instill investor optimism in the stock.

Amazon.com, Inc. Price and Consensus

Amazon’s Continuous Efforts

The e-commerce giant’s strengthening initiatives to combat COVID-19 are noteworthy.

Early this month, the company’s virtual medical clinic for employees, Amazon Care was in talks with local public health organizations to provide kits to residents of Seattle who suspect they may have COVID-19. The test kits include nose swabs that can be mailed to the University of Washington for analysis.

This apart, the company made great efforts on the retail front to combat this contagious virus. It stated that Whole Foods stores will dedicate an entire hour to serve only senior citizens in an attempt to keep them safe from crowd, as they are more susceptible to COVID-19 infection.

In addition to this move, the company has recently taken an initiative to bolster its Same-Day Delivery program by making same-day delivery service available in the cities of Philadelphia, Phoenix, Orlando and Dallas for Prime members.

Further, the company has built mini-fulfillment centers that are first-of-their-kind buildings. Notably, the new facilities are located closer to customers, in turn helping Amazon to reduce the number of hours taken to deliver orders via same-day delivery services.

Additionally, Whole Foods stores are closing two hours early in order to sanitize the stores and restock the shelves. Further, the company will continue to deliver Prime orders from these stores during these two hours.

Also, the company’s delivery drivers have been asked to sanitize the delivery vans every day before going out for delivery.

Bottom Line

The coronavirus pandemic has engulfed the entire world, putting countries under lockdown and claiming more than 10,000 lives globally. The virus has spread far and wide, and crippled the global economy.

Therefore, any investment such as the one made by AWS would provide a much-needed relief and help slow down the spread of the pandemic on the economy.

Moreover, the latest step by AWS will drive the company’s performance and instill investor optimism in this challenging situation.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Amazon carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector include Stamps.com Inc. (NASDAQ:STMP) , eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Atlassian Corp. (NASDAQ:TEAM) . While Stamps.com and eBay sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Atlassian carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Long-term earnings growth for Stamps.com, Atlassian Corp. and eBay is currently projected at 15%, 22.3% and 11.25%, respectively.

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