Stock Traders Buy High Volume of NIKE Call Options (NYSE:NKE)

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 116,347 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 30% compared to the average daily volume of 89,664 call options.

NIKE Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE NKE opened at $76.06 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $92.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a current ratio of 2.40. NIKE has a 52-week low of $74.29 and a 52-week high of $123.39. The stock has a market cap of $114.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.01.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The footwear maker reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $12.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.86 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 42.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that NIKE will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is 39.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of NIKE from $130.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of NIKE from $115.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 28th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Friday, June 28th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on NIKE from $99.00 to $81.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NIKE has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.04.

Insider Activity at NIKE

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 168,378 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.14, for a total value of $15,682,726.92. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,102,090 shares in the company, valued at $102,648,662.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other NIKE news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 168,378 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.14, for a total transaction of $15,682,726.92. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 1,102,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $102,648,662.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 2,941 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $77.02 per share, with a total value of $226,515.82. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,613,260.92. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 213,660 shares of company stock valued at $19,946,333. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Norges Bank bought a new position in NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at $1,315,097,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 87.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,135,431 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $1,860,395,000 after acquiring an additional 7,996,434 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in NIKE by 34.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 27,609,613 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $2,997,628,000 after acquiring an additional 7,143,775 shares during the last quarter. Longview Partners Guernsey LTD acquired a new stake in NIKE in the first quarter worth about $533,533,000. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in NIKE by 612.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,185,432 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $487,327,000 after purchasing an additional 4,457,376 shares during the last quarter. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NIKE

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.