Shares of Amazon.com Inc. surged 2.0% toward a six-week high in afternoon trading Monday, to put them on track for a third-straight gain, despite growing public criticism over the ecommerce giant’s treatment of employees. The stock has rallied 5.6% over the past three days, which would mark the best three-day performance since it rose 6.5% over three-day period ending Jan. 21. After the stock started last year with a big rally, on expectations that the company would benefit from COVID-19-related lockdown measures, the stock has languished in a relatively narrow trading range over the past nine months. Prior to the current three-day win streak, the stock closed at roughly the same level it did when it broke out to a record on July 6, 2020. The company acknowledged over the weekend that its delivery drivers can have trouble finding restrooms, after recently dismissing claims that its workers peed in water bottles so they didn’t have to take bathroom breaks. Amazon’s stock has lost 1.0% year to date but has rallied 69.2% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.5% this year and hiked up 63.8% over the past year.
