NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Price Target Cut to $38.00 by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs lowered NIKE’s price target to $38 from $42 while maintaining a Neutral rating, implying roughly 6% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: MarketBeat’s consensus rating is Hold with a $47.80 target, while 21 analysts rate the stock Hold and seven rate it Sell.
• NIKE’s latest quarter beat earnings and revenue expectations, but sales fell 1.1% year over year. Investors remain focused on weak demand, excess China inventory, distribution pressures and the company’s upcoming October 1 earnings report.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $42.00 to $38.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the footwear maker's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 6.23% from the company's previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of NIKE from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on NIKE from $50.00 to $45.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective (down from $52.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 price objective (down from $72.00) on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and seven have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $47.80.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE opened at $35.77 on Friday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $39.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $43.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.10. NIKE has a 52-week low of $35.22 and a 52-week high of $76.97.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.85 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that NIKE will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew Friend sold 2,463 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total value of $102,460.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,165 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,418,064. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy sold 3,671 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total value of $137,992.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 104,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,941,762.58. This represents a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Sankala Group LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in NIKE by 108.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 548 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

NIKE News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BTIG reaffirmed a Buy rating, providing a counterpoint to the more cautious analyst views. NIKE also recently signed a reported $200 million partnership with the University of Miami, potentially supporting its college-sports presence. BTIG Research Reaffirms Buy Rating for NIKE Nike University of Miami Partnership
• Neutral Sentiment: NIKE is scheduled to report fiscal first-quarter results on October 1. Investors will look for evidence of improving demand, inventory normalization and progress in China; options markets imply a potentially significant post-earnings move. Nike Earnings Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Bank of America downgraded NIKE to Underperform from Neutral and cut its price target to $30 from $47. The firm now expects sales to keep falling through May, pushing the anticipated recovery back by roughly a year—potentially to fiscal 2028—and eliminating hopes for a near-term “spring inflection.” Bank of America Nike Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: The bearish view reflects pressure on wholesale sales and distribution channels, weak demand and excess inventory in China, softer consumer trends, and concerns about product innovation. Bank of America also reduced its valuation multiple, while other analysts have trimmed earnings estimates ahead of the report. Nike Channel and China Pressures

About NIKE

NIKE, Inc is a global athletic footwear, apparel and equipment company headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. The company designs, develops and markets products under the NIKE, Jordan and Converse brands, serving athletes and consumers across a broad range of sports and lifestyle categories.

NIKE's offerings include athletic and casual footwear, sportswear, apparel, accessories and athletic equipment. The company distributes its products through company-owned retail stores, digital platforms, wholesale partners and independent distributors.

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