NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Bumped Up to Buy by Freedom Broker

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) was upgraded by research analysts at Freedom Broker from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $51.00 price objective on the footwear maker’s stock, down from their prior price objective of $54.00. Freedom Broker’s target price suggests a potential upside of 50.51% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. CICC Research lowered their price target on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $44.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Rothschild & Co Redburn lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Berenberg Bank set a $49.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group set a $35.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $30.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Hold rating and seven have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $42.12.

NIKE Trading Down 3.6%

Shares of NYSE NKE traded down $1.26 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $33.88. The stock had a trading volume of 141,630,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 24,034,107. NIKE has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $74.78. The firm has a market cap of $50.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The company had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 earnings per share. NIKE’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. Analysts expect that NIKE will post 1.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy sold 3,671 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total transaction of $137,992.89. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 104,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,941,762.58. The trade was a 3.38% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total transaction of $96,192.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,121 shares in the company, valued at $2,936,568.39. The trade was 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of NKE. State Street Corp lifted its position in NIKE by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,315,606 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,802,807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,494 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 6,830,938 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 49,010.4% in the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 48,054,542 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,061,555,000 after acquiring an additional 47,956,692 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in NIKE by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 7,887,609 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $502,537,000 after purchasing an additional 874,662 shares during the period. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new position in NIKE during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $488,714,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

More NIKE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE reported fiscal first-quarter EPS of $0.48, above the $0.43 analyst consensus. Bernstein said the post-earnings decline has made the shares “de-risked” and maintained a bullish view, while BTIG retained a buy rating despite lowering its price target to $50. Bernstein says Nike stock now de-risked
• Positive Sentiment: Management launched the Pace restructuring program, targeting approximately $2.5 billion in savings. Although the plan involves further job cuts, investors could eventually view the cost reductions and a leaner operating model as supportive of margins and cash flow. NIKE fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Positive Sentiment: NIKE’s new Caitlin Clark signature shoe reportedly sold nearly out shortly after launch, offering a potential product and marketing catalyst as the company seeks to regain consumer momentum. Nike’s Caitlin Clark shoes nearly sold out
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst opinion is divided. Needham maintained a hold rating, while Stifel and Baird lowered their targets to $36; Citi cut its target to $32 and JPMorgan moved to underweight with a $33 target. These actions indicate limited confidence in a near-term recovery, although some targets remain above or near the current valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: First-quarter revenue fell 4.3% year over year to $11.21 billion, missing the $11.32 billion consensus estimate. EPS was helped by cost controls, but the revenue shortfall suggests demand remains weak. Nike quarterly sales miss estimates
• Negative Sentiment: NIKE 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 expectation. Management specifically cited deeper resets in Sportswear, Jordan and Greater China, where local competition and digital-market challenges continue to pressure sales. NKE earnings call flags deeper reset
• Negative Sentiment: Further layoffs are expected in 2027 after workforce reductions earlier this year, reinforcing concerns that the turnaround is worsening before it improves. Analysts and investors are now pricing in a longer recovery timeline and continued pressure on earnings.

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.