Shares in online retailer Amazon.com fell sharply yesterday as investors lost patience after a second-quarter revenue shortfall.

Shares in Amazon, which is seen as a bellwether for the entire online retailing sector, fell in heavy trade on Nasdaq.

"It was a disappointing quarter, leading some we spoke with to say the conference call 'was like attending a wake'," Dain Rauscher Wessels analyst George Sutton told clients. "It was painful to listen to this top-tier internet brand admit it does have issues maintaining its growth, given its size."

Mr Sutton, who maintained a "buy-aggressive" rating for Amazon, lowered his price target to $50 (£33) from $85.

On Wednesday, Amazon reported that second-quarter revenues rose to $578m, short of the $600m some analysts had hoped for, even as the company posted a quarterly loss that beat Wall Street's per share estimate by two cents.

Amazon had an initial target for 90% revenue growth. The results reported by the company on Wednesday showed only 84% revenue growth.

It was the latest in a string of bad news for the company. This week, its share price dropped 10% after its president Joseph Galli abruptly quit, its stock was downgraded by two analysts ahead of earnings and its website crashed.

Amazon said, for its second quarter to June 30 it recorded a pro forma net loss of $115.7m, or 33 cents per share, excluding special items, against a loss of $82.7m, or 26 cents a share, in the same period last year.

The company was expected to lose 35 cents a share, according to the consensus analyst estimate compiled by First Call/Thomson Financial, which tracks brokerage estimates.

Amazon stock has fallen from a 52-week high of $113 set in December.