NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Price Up 1.9% - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• NIKE shares rose 1.9% to about $34.60 on unusually heavy volume, but remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages.
• Fiscal first-quarter EPS of $0.48 beat estimates, but revenue fell 4.3% year over year and missed expectations. Management expects high-single-digit sales declines through much of the turnaround, with weakness particularly pronounced in China.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious, with MarketBeat showing a consensus “Reduce” rating and an average price target of $41.19; Berenberg downgraded the stock to Sell and cut its target to $27.50. Potential recovery drivers include improving running and basketball categories, product innovation and planned cost savings.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) shares traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $34.62 and last traded at $34.6010. Approximately 49,801,370 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 103% from the average daily volume of 24,507,211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.96.

NIKE News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE’s fiscal first-quarter EPS of $0.48 exceeded the $0.43 consensus estimate, while management continues to protect product innovation and marketing spending. The company also targets $2.5 billion in cumulative “Pace” savings through fiscal 2031. Nike earnings: Profit beats expectations but stock hits 13-year low
• Positive Sentiment: Performance categories such as running and basketball are showing improvement, and the company’s sports-performance business is viewed as a potential foundation for recovery. The global launch of Caitlin Clark’s signature collection could also support brand engagement. Why You Need To Pay Attention To Nike Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Nike trades at a substantially lower earnings multiple than its historical average, and its dividend yield has risen as the stock has fallen. However, analysts disagree on whether the valuation is attractive because earnings estimates remain under pressure. NIKE Trades 28% Below Its Usual Earnings Multiple
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations and declined year over year, with management warning that sales will contract at a high-single-digit rate through much of the turnaround. China remains especially weak, while North American growth has been offset by declining NIKE Direct sales. How Are Investors Weighing Nike Following the Q1 Print?
• Negative Sentiment: Berenberg downgraded NIKE to Sell and cut its price target from $49 to $27.50, arguing that competitive and market-structure changes—particularly in China—may be difficult to reverse. Nike Stock Downgraded, Heads for 13-Year Low
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to question the turnaround under CEO Elliott Hill, citing weak demand, margin pressure, restructuring costs, layoffs and reduced confidence in the brand’s near-term execution. NIKE’s High P/E Valuation

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on NIKE from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. Piper Sandler set a $28.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial set a $29.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. CICC Research dropped their price objective on NIKE from $58.00 to $44.80 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Williams Trading lowered shares of NIKE from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and ten have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $41.19.

NIKE Stock Performance

The stock's 50-day moving average is $38.72 and its 200-day moving average is $42.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a market cap of $51.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. NIKE had a return on equity of 15.94% and a net margin of 6.74%.The firm had revenue of $11.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.49 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. On average, analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.46 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. NIKE's payout ratio is 78.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other NIKE news, insider Amy Montagne sold 4,867 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.05, for a total transaction of $204,657.35. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 57,436 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,183.80. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Friend sold 2,463 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total value of $102,460.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 82,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,064. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 14,974 shares of company stock valued at $600,126 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its stake in NIKE by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,315,606 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $3,802,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275,494 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in NIKE by 49,010.4% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 48,054,542 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $3,061,555,000 after buying an additional 47,956,692 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in NIKE by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,887,609 shares of the footwear maker's stock valued at $502,537,000 after buying an additional 874,662 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new position in NIKE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $488,714,000. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of NIKE by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,642,382 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $486,895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,472,515 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NIKE

NIKE, Inc is a global sportswear company that designs, develops, markets and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and related services. Its products are marketed under the NIKE, Jordan and Converse brands and are used across a broad range of sports and lifestyle activities, including running, basketball, football, training and outdoor pursuits.

The company distributes its products through a combination of wholesale partners, NIKE-owned retail stores and digital platforms.

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