Royal Bank Of Canada Cuts NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Price Target to $78.00

NIKE (NYSE:NKE) had its target price trimmed by Royal Bank Of Canada from $85.00 to $78.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the footwear maker’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on NKE. Wells Fargo & Company set a $65.00 price objective on shares of NIKE and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. Argus decreased their price target on shares of NIKE from $85.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Truist Financial set a $70.00 price objective on NIKE and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of NIKE in a research note on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $77.00 target price on NIKE in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $75.32.

NIKE Trading Up 3.1%

NIKE stock opened at $65.21 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.42. The company has a market capitalization of $96.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 1.28. NIKE has a 52 week low of $52.28 and a 52 week high of $82.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

NIKE Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from NIKE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 96.47%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NIKE

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp acquired 16,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $62.09 per share, for a total transaction of $1,002,753.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 21,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,327,980.92. This trade represents a 308.32% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan bought 8,691 shares of NIKE stock in a transaction on Monday, December 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $57.54 per share, for a total transaction of $500,080.14. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 43,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,491,079.22. This trade represents a 25.12% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have bought 91,229 shares of company stock worth $5,452,640. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in NKE. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. grew its position in NIKE by 1.0% in the second quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 14,176 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC lifted its stake in shares of NIKE by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Main Street Financial Solutions LLC now owns 3,441 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $244,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of NIKE by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. St. Clair Advisors LLC now owns 15,217 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $1,061,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. increased its position in shares of NIKE by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Caldwell Sutter Capital Inc. now owns 2,390 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $170,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its position in shares of NIKE by 10.1% during the 2nd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,575 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting NIKE

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Insider buying by CEO Elliott Hill and other insiders is being highlighted as a vote of confidence in Nike’s early-turnaround signs; MarketBeat notes insiders stepping in and a consensus price target above the current level. MarketBeat Insider Buying
• Positive Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a Buy rating on NKE, signaling some analyst-level conviction in the company’s multi-year recovery potential. Sanford C. Bernstein Reaffirms Buy
• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America reiterated a Buy rating citing North America-led improvement, inventory discipline, and recovery potential — supportive for medium-term sentiment. Bank of America Buy Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Hold rating — adds another institutional voice but not a strong directional signal.
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation comparisons (Zacks) with Adidas keep Nike in investors’ screens for relative-value thinking; these pieces are informational rather than catalysts. Zacks ADDYY vs NKE
• Neutral Sentiment: Opinion pieces asking whether to “buy the dip” flag Nike as a recovery candidate — these can support retail buying but are not hard news. Is It Time to Buy the Dip?
• Neutral Sentiment: AI-driven short-term price predictions (ChatGPT/Benzinga) are noise — may influence retail chatter but not fundamentals. Benzinga ChatGPT Price Prediction
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade on slow turnaround progress (China weakness and slower-than-expected recovery) is pressuring sentiment and is an explicit negative catalyst. TipRanks Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage arguing Nike’s turnaround is taking longer than expected (MSN feature) amplifies caution and investor frustration despite high-profile insider buying. MSN: Needs More Than Tim Cook
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada issued a pessimistic near-term price forecast, adding to the sell-side caution. RBC Pessimistic Forecast
• Negative Sentiment: Nike quietly exiting/disposing of RTFKT after closing its digital collectibles arm signals strategic pullback from NFTs and raises questions about prior digital investments. Cointelegraph: RTFKT Exit

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).