NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Jumps 1.9% – Time to Buy?

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s share price shot up 1.9% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $34.62 and last traded at $34.6010. Approximately 49,801,370 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 103% from the average daily volume of 24,507,211 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.96.

Trending Headlines about NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE’s fiscal first-quarter EPS of $0.48 exceeded the $0.43 consensus estimate, while management continues to protect product innovation and marketing spending. The company also targets $2.5 billion in cumulative “Pace” savings through fiscal 2031. Nike earnings: Profit beats expectations but stock hits 13-year low
• Positive Sentiment: Performance categories such as running and basketball are showing improvement, and the company’s sports-performance business is viewed as a potential foundation for recovery. The global launch of Caitlin Clark’s signature collection could also support brand engagement. Why You Need To Pay Attention To Nike Stock
• Neutral Sentiment: Nike trades at a substantially lower earnings multiple than its historical average, and its dividend yield has risen as the stock has fallen. However, analysts disagree on whether the valuation is attractive because earnings estimates remain under pressure. NIKE Trades 28% Below Its Usual Earnings Multiple
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations and declined year over year, with management warning that sales will contract at a high-single-digit rate through much of the turnaround. China remains especially weak, while North American growth has been offset by declining NIKE Direct sales. How Are Investors Weighing Nike Following the Q1 Print?
• Negative Sentiment: Berenberg downgraded NIKE to Sell and cut its price target from $49 to $27.50, arguing that competitive and market-structure changes—particularly in China—may be difficult to reverse. Nike Stock Downgraded, Heads for 13-Year Low
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators continue to question the turnaround under CEO Elliott Hill, citing weak demand, margin pressure, restructuring costs, layoffs and reduced confidence in the brand’s near-term execution. NIKE’s High P/E Valuation

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on NKE. Barclays set a $37.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (down from $60.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of NIKE from $45.00 to $37.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Berenberg Bank set a $27.50 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $54.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Hold rating and ten have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $41.19.

NIKE Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a current ratio of 2.07. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $38.72 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.64. The firm has a market cap of $51.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 1.09.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.32 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 15.94%. NIKE’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.49 EPS. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. On average, analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.7%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Matthew Friend sold 2,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy sold 3,671 shares of the firm’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 directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 14,974 shares of company stock valued at $600,126 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 6.8% in the second 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 in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 47,956,692 shares in the last quarter. Flossbach Von Storch SE acquired a new stake in NIKE in the second quarter worth approximately $488,714,000. 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 worth $502,537,000 after purchasing an additional 874,662 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in NIKE by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,642,382 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $486,895,000 after purchasing an additional 3,472,515 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Company Profile

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.