Piper Sandler Reaffirms Neutral Rating for NIKE (NYSE:NKE)

NIKE (NYSE:NKE)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reissued by research analysts at Piper Sandler in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $50.00 target price on the footwear maker’s stock, down from their prior target price of $60.00. Piper Sandler’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 17.39% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $52.00 target price on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. KeyCorp dropped their target price on NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim dropped their target price on NIKE from $77.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on NIKE from $65.00 to $53.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Eighteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.31.

NIKE Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $42.59 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $56.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market cap of $63.06 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.31. NIKE has a 52-week low of $42.36 and a 52-week high of $80.17.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. NIKE had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The firm had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that NIKE will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In related news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 4,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $43.34 per share, for a total transaction of $173,360.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 41,022 shares in the company, valued at $1,777,893.48. This represents a 10.80% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 11,781 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 approximately $2,337,340.56. This trade represents a 27.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of NKE. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of NIKE by 388.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 202,411 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $15,316,000 after purchasing an additional 160,980 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the first quarter valued at about $311,000. United Bank lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,736 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas lifted its position in shares of NIKE by 7.6% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 40,341 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,870,000 after acquiring an additional 2,864 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 11,781 shares at ~\$42.44, a sizable insider buy that can signal confidence in near-term downside support. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Nike won the UEFA Champions League match-ball sponsorship from Adidas — a high-visibility win that could help marketing momentum but likely won’t immediately offset operational headwinds. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: The share-price decline has pushed Nike’s dividend yield and yield attractiveness higher, which may draw income-focused buyers while the operational reset plays out. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Piper Sandler set a Neutral rating with a $50 price target (down from $60), framing Nike as a tactical trade rather than a clear long-term buy or sell; that leaves room for both rebound and further disappointment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Senior innovation leadership is exiting — Tony/Tom Bignall (chief innovation officer) left after under a year — raising investor concern that Nike’s turnaround execution lacks stability and outside perspective. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent earnings and guidance disappointed: revenue growth stalled, digital sales slipped, and company guidance for the fiscal quarter was lighter than consensus — prompting steep analyst estimate cuts. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/structural headwinds persist: industry-wide sneaker weakness and intensifying competition, plus a slow recovery in China, are cited as existential pressures by multiple outlets. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Price and sentiment momentum are negative: the stock has hit new multi‑year and 52‑week lows, and several shops have cut targets/ratings (Piper Sandler, CICC, others), reinforcing downside pressure. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Legal/reputational risk: reports of a data‑breach class action add another potential drag (remediation costs, customer churn). Read More.

About NIKE

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).