NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Price Down 1.6% – Here’s What Happened

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s share price dropped 1.6% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $64.21 and last traded at $64.53. Approximately 13,025,080 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 28% from the average daily volume of 18,061,563 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.57.

Key NIKE News

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo reaffirmed its Buy rating on Nike, supporting demand from institutional investors and signaling continued conviction in Nike’s long‑term growth. Wells Fargo Reaffirms Their Buy Rating on Nike (NKE)
• Positive Sentiment: High‑profile insider buying and bullish commentary (including a push to “follow” Tim Cook and CEO Elliott Hill) adds retail and momentum interest — a tailwind for sentiment and flows. Opinion: Why It’s Time to Follow Tim Cook and CEO Elliott Hill Into Nike Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted “a lot of value in Nike,” which can attract retail buyers and short‑term momentum traders. Jim Cramer says “there’s a lot of value in Nike”
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks reports that Nike is attracting investor attention and summarizes factors investors should watch — useful for gauging retail interest but not a direct catalyst. NIKE, Inc. (NKE) is Attracting Investor Attention: Here is What You Should Know
• Neutral Sentiment: Several valuation pieces (The Motley Fool / MSN) debate whether Nike is reasonably priced, keeping investor views split between “value” buyers and those concerned about stretched multiples. Nike Stock: Reasonably Priced or Still Too Expensive?
• Neutral Sentiment: Loop Industries named Nike as an anchor customer for a plastics initiative — a strategic sustainability tie‑in but a modest operational impact on Nike’s core apparel/footwear results. Loop Industries Advances India and Europe Projects, Names Nike Anchor Customer
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary lists dividend/portfolio ideas (Dogs of the Dow) that mention dividend yields and allocation strategies; these broader lists can redirect income‑seeking flows but aren’t Nike‑specific catalysts. The Dogs of the Dow: 10 Downtrodden Dividends Paying Out Up to 6.8%
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks and other analyst write‑ups warn that tariff‑driven margin pressure (Q2 gross margin reportedly slid ~300 bps) and related pricing/cost actions are a real headwind; investors may be selling on margin risk despite revenue/earnings beats. Margin Headwinds Strengthen: Will Tariff Mitigation Be Enough for NKE?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on NKE shares. Piper Sandler set a $75.00 target price on shares of NIKE and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Daiwa Capital Markets lowered their price target on NIKE from $75.00 to $61.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of NIKE in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on NIKE from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 price target on NIKE and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.13.

NIKE Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.52. The company has a current ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market cap of $95.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.96, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.28.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 18th. The footwear maker reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $12.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.19 billion. NIKE had a return on equity of 18.43% and a net margin of 5.43%.NIKE’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that NIKE, Inc. will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is currently 96.47%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 86,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.80, for a total value of $5,577,854.40. Following the sale, the chairman directly owned 647,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,965,452. This represents a 11.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp bought 16,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were bought at an average price of $62.09 per share, with a total value of $1,002,753.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,327,980.92. This trade represents a 308.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 91,229 shares of company stock valued at $5,452,640 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NIKE during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC grew its stake in NIKE by 952.6% during the second quarter. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of NIKE by 53.1% during the second quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of NIKE in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Guerra Advisors Inc acquired a new position in shares of NIKE in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About NIKE

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).