Entropy Technologies LP Takes Position in NIKE, Inc. $NKE

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 52,883 shares of the footwear maker’s stock, valued at approximately $3,688,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of NIKE by 697.5% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 228,889 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $15,960,000 after acquiring an additional 200,187 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the third quarter valued at $1,743,000. Soros Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in NIKE by 33.0% in the second quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 302,320 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $21,477,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 54.6% during the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 104,791 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $7,307,000 after purchasing an additional 37,019 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD grew its stake in NIKE by 106.1% during the 3rd quarter. Kranot Hishtalmut Le Morim Ve Gananot Havera Menahelet LTD now owns 205,082 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $14,343,000 after purchasing an additional 105,569 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Key NIKE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays upgraded NKE to Overweight and raised its price target (to $73), arguing Nike has likely hit a “fundamental bottom” thanks to operational progress and disciplined management — a major reason some investors remain constructive. Nike’s Stock Gets an Upgrade (Investopedia)
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat and other outlets highlight strong North American signs (double‑digit wholesale growth, improved full‑price sell‑through) and a re-energized product pipeline (running, basketball, World Cup bookings), supporting a potential recovery if the trend continues. Just Buy It? Barclays Thinks Nike Is Ready to Run (MarketBeat)
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention has spiked — trading volumes and search interest are up — which can amplify moves in either direction depending on next company data or macro headlines. Investors Heavily Search NIKE (Zacks)
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate is active: some analysts view the pullback as an attractive entry (potential upside to consensus targets), while others argue price still reflects material near‑term risk — earnings and margin trajectory will drive re‑rating. Assessing Nike Valuation (Yahoo Finance)
• Negative Sentiment: Lingering headwinds: Greater China sales remain weak and the Converse reset continues to pressure overall results — these international and brand-specific issues keep downside risk if recovery momentum stalls. Just Buy It? Barclays Thinks Nike Is Ready to Run (MarketBeat)
• Negative Sentiment: Some commentators and analysts argue the multi‑year share-price decline and recent volatility justify caution or selling, pointing to decelerating long-term returns and specific short-term risks. 3 Reasons to Sell NKE (Yahoo Finance)
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term downward moves and headlines (Zacks flagged a larger-than-market decline) show the stock remains sensitive to sentiment swings despite the upgrade — expect continued volatility until earnings confirm a sustained recovery. Nike Registers a Bigger Fall Than the Market (Zacks)

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on NKE. Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 price target on NIKE and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.90.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $54.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $80.08 billion, a PE ratio of 31.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.27. NIKE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.28 and a fifty-two week high of $80.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.06.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $12.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 96.47%.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, CEO Elliott Hill bought 16,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $61.10 per share, with a total value of $1,001,306.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 241,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,760,965.70. This represents a 7.28% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,691 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $57.54 per share, for a total transaction of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 43,293 shares in the company, valued at $2,491,079.22. This represents a 25.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased 75,079 shares of company stock valued at $4,449,887 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Profile

Nike, Inc (NYSE: NKE) is a global designer, marketer and distributor of athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories. Founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman and renamed Nike in 1971, the company is headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. Nike develops and commercializes products across performance and lifestyle categories for sports including running, basketball, soccer and training, and is known for signature technologies and design-driven product lines.

The company markets products under several primary brands, including Nike, Jordan and Converse, and sells through a combination of wholesale relationships, branded retail stores and direct-to-consumer channels such as company-operated stores and digital platforms (e.g., Nike.com and mobile apps).