NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Earns Buy Rating from Analysts at BTIG Research

Key Points

• BTIG Research has initiated coverage of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) with a buy rating, following a recent trend of positive upgrades from other brokerages.
• NIKE reported earnings per share of $0.49 for the last quarter, significantly surpassing analyst expectations of $0.27, with revenue of $11.72 billion compared to projected $10.96 billion.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $82.21, as it shows signs of strong institutional interest, with 64.25% of the shares owned by institutional investors.

BTIG Research started coverage on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating on the footwear maker's stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on NKE. Cowen upgraded NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price target on NIKE and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Telsey Advisory Group restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded NIKE from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on NIKE and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $82.21.

NIKE Price Performance

NKE stock opened at $68.45 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.19, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.34. NIKE has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $84.76. The company has a market capitalization of $101.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.10, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.29.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. NIKE had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 6.23%.The firm had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. NIKE's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.93, for a total value of $6,535,902.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 744,988 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,566,938.84. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total value of $306,461.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 29,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,095,052.92. This trade represents a 12.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 952.6% in the 2nd quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co raised its stake in NIKE by 53.1% during the 2nd quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 441 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. 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.