JPMorgan Chase & Co. Reaffirms Underweight Rating for NIKE (NYSE:NKE)

NIKE (NYSE:NKE)‘s stock had its “underweight” rating reiterated by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $40.00 price target on the footwear maker’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential downside of 6.18% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (down from $74.00) on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on NIKE from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of NIKE from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $53.53.

NIKE Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NKE stock opened at $42.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $63.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.12. NIKE has a 12-month low of $40.00 and a 12-month high of $80.17. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $43.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.09.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 30th. The footwear maker reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $10.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.85 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 6.70% and a return on equity of 16.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.14 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that NIKE will post 1.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Philip Mccartney sold 17,398 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.18, for a total value of $803,439.64. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 53,133 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,453,681.94. This trade represents a 24.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On NIKE

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 47,956,692 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in NIKE during the 4th quarter worth about $829,956,000. Harris Associates L P acquired a new position in NIKE during the 2nd quarter valued at about $621,525,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in NIKE by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 49,069,951 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $3,126,246,000 after purchasing an additional 6,830,938 shares during the period. Finally, Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in NIKE by 2,492.4% in the fourth quarter. Jasper Ridge Partners L.P. now owns 4,883,229 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $311,111,000 after buying an additional 4,694,859 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

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).