Needham & Company LLC Reaffirms Hold Rating for NIKE (NYSE:NKE)

NIKE (NYSE:NKE)‘s stock had its “hold” rating restated by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports.

NKE has been the subject of several other reports. Zacks Research raised shares of NIKE from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $68.00 price target (down from $72.00) on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Argus upgraded NIKE to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. China Renaissance reduced their price objective on shares of NIKE from $50.30 to $47.30 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, DZ Bank restated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, twenty have issued a Hold rating and eight have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $44.47.

NIKE Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NIKE stock opened at $35.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.96. NIKE has a 52-week low of $35.02 and a 52-week high of $76.97. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $39.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.09.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $11.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.32 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.49 EPS. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 1.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy sold 3,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total transaction of $137,992.89. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 104,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,941,762.58. The trade was a 3.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Philip McCartney sold 2,559 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 78,121 shares in the company, valued at $2,936,568.39. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its stake in shares of NIKE by 49,010.4% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE bought a new stake in NIKE during the second quarter valued at about $488,714,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 16.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in NIKE by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 63,598,789 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $2,636,104,000 after purchasing an additional 4,052,428 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in NIKE by 83.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,642,382 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $486,895,000 after acquiring an additional 3,472,515 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NIKE News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE reported quarterly EPS of $0.48, ahead of the $0.43 analyst consensus. The company also said its performance-focused business is showing progress, which could support the longer-term recovery. NIKE fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: Demand for Nike’s first Caitlin Clark signature shoe was strong, with the Caitlin 1 nearly selling out shortly after launch, providing a potential product and marketing catalyst. Nike Caitlin Clark shoes

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.