NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Earns “Buy” Rating from Sanford C. Bernstein

NIKE (NYSE:NKE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by investment analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein in a research note issued on Friday,MarketScreener reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on NKE. BTIG Research lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $35.00 to $23.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $50.00 target price (down from $60.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on NIKE from $69.00 to $57.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.34.

NIKE Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE NKE opened at $44.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 2.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $52.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.34. NIKE has a twelve month low of $42.09 and a twelve month high of $80.17. The stock has a market cap of $66.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.63, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.31.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $11.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.23 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 4.84% and a return on equity of 16.41%. The firm’s revenue was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 1.52 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 4,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 approximately $1,777,893.48. This represents a 10.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Timothy D. Cook purchased 25,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $42.43 per share, for a total transaction of $1,060,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 130,480 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,536,266.40. This represents a 23.70% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Insiders have bought 64,441 shares of company stock valued at $2,734,204 in the last ninety days. 0.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Sankala Group LLC acquired a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “buy” on NKE, keeping institutional-level support for the turnaround thesis and signaling confidence from an influential sell-side shop. MarketScreener
• Positive Sentiment: CEO-level confidence: reports say Nike’s CEO personally increased a compensation/skin-in-the-game commitment by $1M, which investors often view as alignment with shareholder interests. MSN
• Positive Sentiment: Market reaction to the latest cost actions was initially supportive: NKE ticked up after-hours when the company announced another round of layoffs, suggesting investors see near-term margin/cash-flow benefits. MSN After-hours
• Positive Sentiment: DZ Bank also reaffirmed a buy rating, adding a second endorsement from the sell-side that supports the case for recovery if execution improves. AmericanBankingNews
• Neutral Sentiment: Nike announced roughly 1,400 job cuts (mainly in technology) as part of its “Win Now” efficiency push — a move that should reduce costs but also underscores that the turnaround is still in progress. WSJ
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest jumped ~22.8% in April to ~56.1M shares (≈3.8% of float), signaling growing bearish positioning and increased potential selling pressure despite a modest days-to-cover ratio (~1.4). (internal short-interest report)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst debate and structural concerns persist: commentary about a potential “generational reset” and multi-year share losses reflects skepticism that execution and product momentum will recover quickly. Benzinga
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure and talent migration (e.g., a former Nike executive named CEO at Lululemon) highlight market-share threats that could weigh on near-term sales recovery. FinancialPost

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).