NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Shares Down 3.3% on Analyst Downgrade

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s stock price was down 3.3% during trading on Wednesday after Needham & Company LLC downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The company traded as low as $63.19 and last traded at $63.2030. Approximately 18,200,386 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 13% from the average daily volume of 20,975,213 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.35.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on NKE. Argus dropped their price target on NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Bank of America dropped their target price on NIKE from $84.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 19th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of NIKE from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NIKE news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 16,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $62.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,753.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 21,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,327,980.92. This represents a 308.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Elliott Hill acquired 16,388 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $61.10 per share, with a total value 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. The trade was a 7.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 91,229 shares of company stock worth $5,452,640. 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: Insider buying by CEO Elliott Hill and other insiders is being highlighted as a vote of confidence in Nike’s early-turnaround signs; MarketBeat notes insiders stepping in and a consensus price target above the current level. MarketBeat Insider Buying
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a Buy rating on NKE, signaling some analyst-level conviction in the company’s multi-year recovery potential. Sanford C. Bernstein Reaffirms Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating citing North America-led improvement, inventory discipline, and recovery potential — supportive for medium-term sentiment. Bank of America Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Hold rating — adds another institutional voice but not a strong directional signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation comparisons (Zacks) with Adidas keep Nike in investors’ screens for relative-value thinking; these pieces are informational rather than catalysts. Zacks ADDYY vs NKE
• Neutral Sentiment: Opinion pieces asking whether to “buy the dip” flag Nike as a recovery candidate — these can support retail buying but are not hard news. Is It Time to Buy the Dip?
• Neutral Sentiment: AI-driven short-term price predictions (ChatGPT/Benzinga) are noise — may influence retail chatter but not fundamentals. Benzinga ChatGPT Price Prediction
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade on slow turnaround progress (China weakness and slower-than-expected recovery) is pressuring sentiment and is an explicit negative catalyst. TipRanks Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage arguing Nike’s turnaround is taking longer than expected (MSN feature) amplifies caution and investor frustration despite high-profile insider buying. MSN: Needs More Than Tim Cook
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada issued a pessimistic near-term price forecast, adding to the sell-side caution. RBC Pessimistic Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Nike quietly exiting/disposing of RTFKT after closing its digital collectibles arm signals strategic pullback from NFTs and raises questions about prior digital investments. Cointelegraph: RTFKT Exit

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 200,187 shares in the last quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in NIKE by 33.0% during the 2nd quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC now owns 302,320 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $21,477,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 54.6% during the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 104,791 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $7,307,000 after buying an additional 37,019 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of NIKE by 238.8% during the second quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 141,356 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $10,042,000 after buying an additional 99,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banco Santander S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of NIKE by 28.3% in the second quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 221,117 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $15,708,000 after buying an additional 48,764 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Trading Up 3.1%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 1.40. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $63.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.42. The stock has a market cap of $96.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.28.

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

NIKE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a dividend of $0.41 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is a boost from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. NIKE’s dividend 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).