NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Rated Neutral in New Coverage at Cantor Fitzgerald

Equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a “neutral” rating and a $38.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald‘s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 4.63% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on NKE. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 3rd. BNP Paribas Exane set a $19.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $35.00 target price on NIKE and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and twelve have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $40.83.

NIKE Stock Up 3.2%

NKE stock opened at $39.84 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $36.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.07. NIKE has a fifty-two week low of $31.97 and a fifty-two week high of $69.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $59.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 4.73 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. NIKE had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. The firm’s 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, equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy sold 3,671 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total value of $137,992.89. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 104,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,941,762.58. The trade was a 3.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Philip McCartney sold 2,559 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total transaction of $96,192.81. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,121 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,936,568.39. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new stake in NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $488,714,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,598,789 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,636,104,000 after buying an additional 4,052,428 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 873.8% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 2,720,616 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $96,310,000 after buying an additional 2,441,233 shares during the period. Equity Investment Corp acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $99,531,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 59.4% in the second quarter. Amundi now owns 6,460,398 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $265,199,000 after buying an additional 2,406,609 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Company Profile

NIKE, Inc designs, develops, markets and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for sports and fitness, as well as lifestyle products. Its portfolio includes the Nike and Jordan brands, and it owns Converse, which sells casual footwear, apparel and accessories.

The company sells products worldwide through wholesale partners and its own retail stores and digital platforms. Its offerings serve customers across a range of sports and activities, including running, basketball, soccer and training.

NIKE traces its roots to Blue Ribbon Sports, founded in 1964 by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman.