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

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

NKE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $40.00 to $33.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Benchmark upgraded NIKE to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, CICC Research decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $44.80 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, NIKE currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.12.

NIKE Stock Down 3.6%

Shares of NKE opened at $33.88 on Thursday. NIKE has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $74.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.36. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.09.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.18% and a net margin of 6.74%.The firm had revenue of $11.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $11.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.49 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that NIKE will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Amy Montagne sold 4,867 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.05, for a total transaction of $204,657.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 57,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,415,183.80. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 owned 82,165 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,064. This represents a 2.91% 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. Insiders have sold 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted 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 worth $3,061,555,000 after buying an additional 47,956,692 shares during the period. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the second quarter valued at about $488,714,000. Capital World Investors raised its stake in shares of NIKE by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 49,069,951 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,126,246,000 after acquiring an additional 6,830,938 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 4,052,428 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More NIKE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE reported fiscal Q1 EPS of $0.48, above the $0.43 analyst consensus. The company also retains a strong balance sheet, with approximately $8.4 billion in cash and short-term investments, while its dividend yield is approaching 5%. NIKE Posts Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts see the selloff as an opportunity. Freedom Broker upgraded NKE from “sell” to “buy” with a $51 price target, while BTIG maintained a “buy” rating with a $50 target. Bernstein called the stock “de-risked” following the earnings release. Bernstein says Nike stock is de-risked
• Neutral Sentiment: NIKE is launching the Pace restructuring program, targeting approximately $2.5 billion in savings. Management said the plan is intended to simplify operations and support performance categories, but implementation will include further job cuts likely extending into 2027. NIKE fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s dividend appears supported by its liquidity and history of 24 consecutive years of increases, although a higher yield also reflects the stock’s substantial decline and investors’ concerns about future earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal Q1 revenue fell 4.3% year over year to $11.21 billion, below the $11.32 billion consensus estimate. Weakness in Greater China, Sportswear and Jordan continued to weigh on sales, while competition and changing consumer preferences are pressuring the brand. Nike plans more job cuts and forecasts revenue drop
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects fiscal 2027 revenue to decline by a high-single-digit percentage and provided EPS guidance of $1.15–$1.35, well below the roughly $1.66 analyst consensus. The outlook suggests Nike’s turnaround may take longer and be more costly than investors expected. Nike shares fall after weak outlook and layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms reduced price targets, including Citi to $32 and JPMorgan to $33, with neutral or underweight ratings. Zacks also placed NKE on its Strong Sell list, reinforcing concerns about margin pressure, China weakness and delayed recovery.

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.