NIKE Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:NKE)

Key Points

• NIKE, Inc. experienced a significant increase in call options trading, with 121,790 options acquired—20% more than the typical volume.
• Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. recently raised their price targets for NIKE shares to $84.00 and $100.00, respectively, signaling positive sentiment among analysts.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.49, surpassing analysts' expectations and indicating a year-over-year revenue increase of 1.0% to $11.72 billion.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 121,790 call options on the company. This is an increase of 20% compared to the typical volume of 101,440 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NKE. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of NIKE from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NIKE from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group set a $71.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of NIKE from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NIKE has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.57.

NIKE Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:NKE traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $74.21. 19,728,480 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,454,965. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $109.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.07, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.29. NIKE has a 52-week low of $52.28 and a 52-week high of $84.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.31.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.22. NIKE had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 21.05%. The company had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. NIKE's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.07%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $56,566,938.84. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in NIKE by 344.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 26,698,835 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $1,694,842,000 after purchasing an additional 20,688,013 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in NIKE during the 2nd quarter worth $835,063,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 9,043,180 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main grew its holdings in NIKE by 3,129.9% during the 2nd quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 9,091,426 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $645,855,000 after acquiring an additional 8,809,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Harris Associates L P acquired a new position in NIKE during the 2nd quarter worth $621,525,000. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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