NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Rating Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on NKE. DZ Bank reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. CICC Research dropped their target price on shares of NIKE from $58.00 to $44.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Morgan Stanley set a $27.00 price target on shares of NIKE and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price objective (down from $42.00) on shares of NIKE in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $28.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Hold rating and eight have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.12.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE stock opened at $33.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.36 and a current ratio of 1.96. NIKE has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $74.78.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $11.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.32 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 16.18% and a net margin of 6.74%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.49 earnings per share. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that NIKE will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.8%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 78.85%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other NIKE news, insider Amy Montagne sold 4,867 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.05, for a total transaction of $204,657.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 57,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,415,183.80. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew Friend sold 2,463 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 82,165 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,418,064. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,974 shares of company stock worth $600,126. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp lifted 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 valued at $3,802,807,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,494 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 49,069,951 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $3,126,246,000 after acquiring an additional 6,830,938 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its stake in shares of NIKE by 49,010.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 47,956,692 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 12.5% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Flossbach Von Storch SE purchased a new position in shares of NIKE during the second quarter worth $488,714,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: NIKE reported fiscal Q1 EPS of $0.48, above the $0.43 analyst consensus. The company also retains a strong balance sheet, with approximately $8.4 billion in cash and short-term investments, while its dividend yield is approaching 5%. NIKE Posts Earnings Results
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts see the selloff as an opportunity. Freedom Broker upgraded NKE from “sell” to “buy” with a $51 price target, while BTIG maintained a “buy” rating with a $50 target. Bernstein called the stock “de-risked” following the earnings release. Bernstein says Nike stock is de-risked
• Neutral Sentiment: NIKE is launching the Pace restructuring program, targeting approximately $2.5 billion in savings. Management said the plan is intended to simplify operations and support performance categories, but implementation will include further job cuts likely extending into 2027. NIKE fiscal 2027 first-quarter results
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s dividend appears supported by its liquidity and history of 24 consecutive years of increases, although a higher yield also reflects the stock’s substantial decline and investors’ concerns about future earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Fiscal Q1 revenue fell 4.3% year over year to $11.21 billion, below the $11.32 billion consensus estimate. Weakness in Greater China, Sportswear and Jordan continued to weigh on sales, while competition and changing consumer preferences are pressuring the brand. Nike plans more job cuts and forecasts revenue drop
• Negative Sentiment: Management expects fiscal 2027 revenue to decline by a high-single-digit percentage and provided EPS guidance of $1.15–$1.35, well below the roughly $1.66 analyst consensus. The outlook suggests Nike’s turnaround may take longer and be more costly than investors expected. Nike shares fall after weak outlook and layoffs
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms reduced price targets, including Citi to $32 and JPMorgan to $33, with neutral or underweight ratings. Zacks also placed NKE on its Strong Sell list, reinforcing concerns about margin pressure, China weakness and delayed recovery.

About NIKE

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.