NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Rating Lowered to Strong Sell at Zacks Research

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) was downgraded by Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on NKE. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on NIKE from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.04.

NIKE Stock Down 4.8%

NYSE:NKE opened at $43.72 on Monday. NIKE has a 52 week low of $41.35 and a 52 week high of $80.17. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $45.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $11.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.41% and a net margin of 4.84%.The company’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 1.51 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Director Timothy D. Cook purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $42.43 per share, for a total transaction of $1,060,750.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 130,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,536,266.40. The trade was a 23.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 11,781 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $42.44 per share, with a total value of $499,985.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 55,074 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,337,340.56. The trade was a 27.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have acquired a total of 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204 over the last 90 days. 0.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 388.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $15,316,000 after purchasing an additional 160,980 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in NIKE during the first quarter worth approximately $311,000. United Bank lifted its stake in NIKE by 11.3% in the second quarter. United Bank now owns 17,067 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,212,000 after buying an additional 1,736 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 0.3% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 64,161 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $4,558,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 6.5% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 191,268 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $13,588,000 after acquiring an additional 11,646 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Company 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).