NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $61.00 to $64.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "equal weight" rating on the footwear maker's stock. Morgan Stanley's target price points to a potential downside of 12.56% from the stock's current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $66.00 to $65.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on NIKE from $56.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Cfra Research upgraded NIKE to a "moderate buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on NIKE from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.63.

NIKE Stock Up 17.0%

NYSE:NKE traded up $10.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.20. 52,649,649 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 15,600,935. The company has a fifty day moving average of $60.31 and a 200 day moving average of $67.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a current ratio of 2.19. NIKE has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $94.74. The company has a market capitalization of $108.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 1.21.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The footwear maker reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $11.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.69 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.43% and a return on equity of 32.18%. NIKE's revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.99 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 4th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,983 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,869,726.18. This represents a 36.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in NIKE by 344.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,698,835 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $1,694,842,000 after acquiring an additional 20,688,013 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,126,288,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of NIKE by 24.9% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 45,383,916 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $2,880,971,000 after purchasing an additional 9,043,180 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the 1st quarter worth about $509,051,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in NIKE in the 1st quarter valued at about $502,285,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

NIKE Company Profile

NIKE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company provides athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories under the Jumpman trademark; and casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories under the Converse, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell trademarks.

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