Each day, Benzinga will take a look back at a notable market-related moment that happened on this date. What Happened? On Dec. 16, 1998, CIBC Oppenheimer analyst Henry Blodget raised his price target for Amazon.com Inc. from $150 to $400. Where Was the Market? The S&P 500 closed at 1,161.94, and the Dow closed at 8,790.60. What Else Was Going On in the World? In 1998, BMW bought Rolls-Royce Motors for $570 million. Microsoft Corporation released Windows 98. Average U.S. monthly rent was $619. Blodget’s Call On Dec. 16, 1998, Blodget reiterated his Buy rating for Amazon and raised his price target for the soaring stock by 167 percent from $150 to $400. Before the upgrade, Amazon was trading at around $243 and was already up a whopping 269 percent in the previous six months. Blodget’s new price target drew ridicule from many critics at the time, but it also …