Royal Bank of Canada Issues Pessimistic Forecast for NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Price

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) had its price target lowered by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $67.00 to $66.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the footwear maker’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 2.96% from the company’s current price.

NKE has been the subject of several other research reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. China Renaissance started coverage on shares of NIKE in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of NIKE from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $75.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of NIKE from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. Fifteen investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.38.

NIKE Stock Performance

NKE stock opened at $68.02 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $100.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.43. NIKE has a fifty-two week low of $65.17 and a fifty-two week high of $98.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.26. The business had revenue of $11.27 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 896,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,301,708.56. This represents a 15.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John W. Rogers, Jr. acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 27th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $76.65 per share, for a total transaction of $191,625.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 34,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,636,989.95. The trade was a 7.84 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NKE. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Caitlin John LLC boosted its position in NIKE by 117.0% during the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Teachers Insurance & Annuity Association of America bought a new stake in NIKE during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in NIKE during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

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.