NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Given Buy Rating at Sanford C. Bernstein

NIKE (NYSE:NKE)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities researchers at Sanford C. Bernstein in a research report issued on Wednesday,MarketScreener reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Guggenheim cut their price objective on NIKE from $77.00 to $74.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays decreased their target price on NIKE from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of NIKE from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $70.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $46.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Monday, April 13th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nineteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.01.

NIKE Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NKE opened at $41.73 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $44.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.40. The company has a market cap of $61.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. NIKE has a twelve month low of $41.35 and a twelve month high of $80.17.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The footwear maker reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.06. The company 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 for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that NIKE will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Timothy D. Cook purchased 25,000 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $42.43 per share, with a total value of $1,060,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 130,480 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,536,266.40. The trade was a 23.70% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan acquired 11,781 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $42.44 per share, with a total value of $499,985.64. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 55,074 shares in the company, valued at $2,337,340.56. The trade was a 27.21% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders bought 64,441 shares of company stock worth $2,734,204. Insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of NIKE by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 116,993,541 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $7,453,658,000 after purchasing an additional 1,702,342 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in NIKE by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 59,315,606 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,802,807,000 after buying an additional 1,275,494 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in NIKE by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 49,069,951 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,126,246,000 after buying an additional 6,830,938 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in NIKE by 49,010.4% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 48,054,542 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,061,555,000 after buying an additional 47,956,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in NIKE by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,442,879 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,677,251,000 after buying an additional 233,925 shares in the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nike named David Denton as its next CFO, and investors are viewing the finance-leadership reset as a constructive step for the company’s turnaround. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Nike said its fiscal fourth-quarter results are still expected to be on track, which helps reduce near-term uncertainty ahead of its June 30 earnings report. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Evercore downgraded Nike to hold from outperform and set a $46 price target, signaling less confidence in the near-term upside as the turnaround remains incomplete. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts continue to flag risks tied to weak U.S. demand, Jordan brand softness, supply delays in Europe, and limited innovation, all of which may pressure Nike’s recovery story. Article Title

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).