NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Short Interest Up 22.8% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose 22.8% in April to 56,120,601 shares (about 3.8% of the stock), producing a days-to-cover of 1.4 based on average daily volume.
• Insiders increased stakes: CEO Elliott Hill bought 23,660 shares (~$1.0M) on April 13, and insiders acquired 64,441 shares over the quarter, bringing insider ownership to roughly 0.80%.
• Analysts are mixed — the consensus rating is Hold with a $62.34 target after several price cuts, while the stock trades near $44.46 (close to its 12‑month low) and yields 3.7% with a payout ratio of 108.6%.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 56,120,601 shares, a growth of 22.8% from the March 31st total of 45,707,416 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 39,774,014 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on NKE shares. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial cut their price objective on NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price objective on NIKE from $35.00 to $23.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Guggenheim decreased their target price on NIKE from $77.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson cut NIKE from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $72.00 to $46.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $62.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Elliott Hill bought 23,660 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.27 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,108.20. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 265,247 shares in the company, valued at $11,211,990.69. The trade was a 9.79% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $43.34 per share, for a total transaction of $173,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,022 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,777,893.48. This represents a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders acquired 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 4.2% in the second quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 36,140 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $2,520,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Diligent Investors LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Diligent Investors LLC now owns 3,719 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 2,113 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 1.9% in the third quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 8,514 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $597,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

NIKE Stock Performance

NYSE:NKE traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.46. The stock had a trading volume of 11,527,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 21,393,584. The stock has a market cap of $65.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.12. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.14. NIKE has a 12-month low of $42.09 and a 12-month high of $80.17.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 1.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. NIKE's payout ratio is currently 108.61%.

About NIKE

Nike, Inc NYSE: NKE is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).

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