Morgan Stanley Issues Pessimistic Forecast for NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Price

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) had its price objective dropped by Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $72.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the footwear maker’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 0.73% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Dbs Bank raised NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on NIKE from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of NIKE from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of NIKE from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $72.00 to $90.00 in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on NIKE from $79.00 to $75.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NIKE currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $89.69.

NIKE Price Performance

Shares of NKE traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $72.53. The stock had a trading volume of 3,915,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,992,756. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The company has a market capitalization of $107.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.99. NIKE has a 52 week low of $68.62 and a 52 week high of $102.49.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 19th. The footwear maker reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $12.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.11 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 36.99% and a net margin of 9.98%. The firm’s revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.03 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other NIKE news, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. purchased 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $76.65 per share, with a total value of $191,625.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares in the company, valued at $2,636,989.95. This trade represents a 7.84 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Caitlin John LLC increased its stake in NIKE by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America acquired a new position in NIKE during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 110.5% during the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE Company Profile

NIKE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company provides athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories under the Jumpman trademark; and casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories under the Converse, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell trademarks.