NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Sets New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) hit a new 52-week low on Friday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $62.00 to $58.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. NIKE traded as low as $52.18 and last traded at $52.3960, with a volume of 10427812 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $53.44.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on NKE. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. BTIG Research reduced their price objective on NIKE from $100.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price objective on NIKE from $75.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of NIKE from $90.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $65.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Twenty-three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NIKE news, CEO Elliott Hill purchased 16,388 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $61.10 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,306.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 241,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,760,965.70. This trade represents a 7.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 8,691 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $57.54 per share, with a total value of $500,080.14. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,491,079.22. The trade was a 25.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 75,079 shares of company stock valued at $4,449,887. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Retail check: Truist’s channel checks show Nike running shoes still selling well at Dick’s Sporting Goods, supporting near‑term retail demand for key product lines. Truist checks
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG cut its price target but kept a Buy rating, implying confidence in Nike’s longer-term thesis despite near-term headwinds. BTIG PT cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Market attention: Increased trading/activity in NKE has drawn interest around the Dow Jones Index membership and liquidity — a technical factor that can amplify moves but doesn’t change fundamentals. Kalkine
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparisons: Coverage comparing Nike to peers (Lululemon, Tapestry) frames Nike as less favored by some investors, which can divert capital but doesn’t immediately change Nike’s sales trajectory. Fool comparison
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro risk note: Analysis on how the Iran conflict raises shipping and oil costs flags a higher-risk operating backdrop for apparel retailers, a background risk rather than an immediate company-specific shock. Investopedia
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrades/price‑target cuts: Multiple outlets report three price-forecast cuts in one day and a general pullback in analyst optimism, raising near‑term selling pressure. TipRanks
• Negative Sentiment: UBS lowered its price target (to $58) and moved to Neutral, citing lackluster sales momentum from channel checks — a direct catalyst for downward revisions in consensus expectations. Benzinga UBS
• Negative Sentiment: Muted earnings expectations: UBS and other notes flag soft sales trends into March and expect roughly in‑line near‑term results, which keeps sentiment pressured ahead of upcoming reports. Proactive
• Negative Sentiment: Press coverage (Benzinga/MSN/Forbes) highlights the stock drop and competitor arguments (Tapestry possibly outpacing Nike), reinforcing negative investor narrative and short‑term selling. Benzinga movers MSN Forbes

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP purchased a new stake in NIKE during the third quarter worth $34,200,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 697.5% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 228,889 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $15,960,000 after acquiring an additional 200,187 shares in the last quarter. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 3rd quarter worth $1,743,000. Soros Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 302,320 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $21,477,000 after purchasing an additional 75,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 54.6% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 104,791 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $7,307,000 after purchasing an additional 37,019 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $77.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 1.27. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.40.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 5.43% and a return on equity of 18.43%. The company’s revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. NIKE’s payout ratio is currently 96.47%.

NIKE Company Profile

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).