NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Shares Up 2% – Should You Buy?

Posted by Geri Gentry on Oct 24th, 2026

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE – Get Free Report)’s stock price rose 2% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $38.44 and last traded at $38.2630. Approximately 28,040,134 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 13% from the average daily volume of 24,778,326 shares. The stock had previously closed at $37.53.

NIKE News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

Positive Sentiment: Guggenheim and BTIG Research reaffirmed Buy ratings and $50 price targets, implying substantial upside from current levels. Barclays also raised its target to $45 and said the shares may be near a bottom. Guggenheim rating Barclays raises Nike price target
Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to look for evidence that Nike’s brand reset is gaining traction. Recent quarterly earnings exceeded EPS expectations, while rebuilding wholesale relationships and managing inventory could support a longer-term recovery. Nike turnaround article
Positive Sentiment: Nike plans to bring back a popular retro lifestyle shoe next year, a move that could provide incremental support for consumer interest and its lifestyle business. Nike retro shoe return
Neutral Sentiment: Nike will hold an Investor Day on November 16–17, with key presentations webcast on November 17. Investors may look for updated targets and details on the turnaround strategy. Nike 2026 Investor Day webcast
Negative Sentiment: Wolfe Research initiated coverage with an Underperform rating and a $28 price target, citing roughly 25% potential downside. The sharply lower target adds to investor concerns about the pace of earnings recovery.
Negative Sentiment: A sector-wide retail selloff pushed athletic-apparel stocks lower, with Nike declining alongside Lululemon and Under Armour. This indicates broader concerns about discretionary consumer demand, not solely company-specific weakness. Athletic apparel stock selloff
Negative Sentiment: Analysts remain concerned about slowing digital sales, weaker direct-to-consumer performance in Greater China, ongoing sales declines and continued competitive pressure in China. UBS maintained a Neutral rating, underscoring uncertainty over the recovery timeline. Nike digital sales slowdown

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NKE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HSBC reduced their target price on NIKE from $48.00 to $40.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 28th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on NIKE from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on NIKE from $44.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. CICC Research reduced their price objective on NIKE from $58.00 to $44.80 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and eleven have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $40.93.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on NKE

NIKE Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $37.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $41.28. The company has a market capitalization of $55.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 1.09.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.05. NIKE had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The business had revenue of $11.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $11.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.49 earnings per share. NIKE’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that NIKE, Inc. will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st were given a $0.41 dividend. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 78.85%.

Insider Transactions at NIKE

In other news, CFO Matthew Friend sold 2,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.60, for a total transaction of $102,460.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 82,165 shares in the company, valued at $3,418,064. The trade was a 2.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Amy Montagne sold 4,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.05, for a total value of $204,657.35. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 57,436 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,183.80. This trade represents a 7.81% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 14,974 shares of company stock valued at $600,126 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. acquired a new position in NIKE in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in NIKE by 108.4% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 548 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Wealth LLC bought a new position in NIKE in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new position in NIKE in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 64.25% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NIKE Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

NIKE, Inc is a global athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories company headquartered near Beaverton, Oregon. The company designs, develops, markets and sells products under the Nike, Jordan and Converse brands, serving athletes and consumers across a broad range of sports and lifestyle categories.

NIKE’s product portfolio includes athletic and casual footwear, performance and lifestyle apparel, sports equipment, accessories and digital fitness-related offerings. The company distributes its products through company-owned retail stores, digital platforms and wholesale partners, while also operating direct-to-consumer and membership programs.

The company traces its origins to 1964, when Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman founded Blue Ribbon Sports.