NIKE's (NKE) "Buy" Rating Reaffirmed at Sanford C. Bernstein

Key Points

• Sanford C. Bernstein has reaffirmed a "buy" rating for NIKE (NKE) with a price objective of $90.00, indicating a potential upside of 33.56% from the current price.
• Recent earnings showed NIKE reporting $0.49 EPS, exceeding expectations while revenue rose to $11.72 billion for the quarter, up 1% year-over-year.
• Insiders have recently sold significant shares, including Chairman Mark G. Parker who sold 86,078 shares, reflecting a 10.36% decrease in his position.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a research note issued to investors on Monday,MarketScreener Latest Ratings reports. They presently have a $90.00 price objective on the footwear maker's stock. Sanford C. Bernstein's price objective indicates a potential upside of 33.56% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on NKE. Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on NIKE and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. HSBC upgraded NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, June 27th. Barclays set a $70.00 price target on NIKE and gave the company a "positive" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. DZ Bank raised shares of NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of NIKE from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-four have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.57.

NIKE Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NKE traded up $2.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $67.39. The stock had a trading volume of 10,998,364 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,444,246. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.29. NIKE has a 1-year low of $52.28 and a 1-year high of $84.76.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.27 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $11.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.96 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 21.16% and a net margin of 6.23%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE 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 transaction of $6,535,902.54. Following the sale, the chairman owned 744,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at $56,566,938.84. The trade was a 10.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total transaction of $306,461.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,396 shares in the company, valued at $2,095,052.92. The trade was a 12.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 200,378 shares of company stock worth $14,794,264 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the first quarter worth $25,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the second quarter worth $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 952.6% in the second 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 period. Saudi Central Bank bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 53.1% in the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 441 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing 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.

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