NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to Overweight Rating

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $75.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock, up from their prior price target of $60.00.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. Cowen upgraded NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on NIKE from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen raised NIKE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $62.00 to $85.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-six have assigned a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.72.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NKE opened at $66.08 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $68.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.61. The stock has a market cap of $97.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.89, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.45. NIKE has a one year low of $52.28 and a one year high of $82.44.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.27 by $0.22. NIKE had a net margin of 6.23% and a return on equity of 21.16%. The business had revenue of $11.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Treasure Heinle sold 4,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.27, for a total transaction of $306,461.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 16,150 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $62.09 per share, with a total value of $1,002,753.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 21,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,327,980.92. The trade was a 308.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 28.3% during the second quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 221,117 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $15,708,000 after buying an additional 48,764 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 238.8% in the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 141,356 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $10,042,000 after acquiring an additional 99,638 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 1,008,340 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $69,932,000 after acquiring an additional 5,601 shares in the last quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in NIKE during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,963,000. Finally, BROOKFIELD Corp ON increased its holdings in NIKE by 36.2% during the 1st quarter. BROOKFIELD Corp ON now owns 658,598 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $41,808,000 after purchasing an additional 175,000 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About NIKE

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.