NIKE (NYSE:NKE) Stock Dropped to Strong Sell by Berenberg Bank

Posted by Stanley Muller on Oct 7th, 2026

Berenberg Bank lowered shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE – Free Report) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on NKE. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of NIKE in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on NIKE from $39.00 to $32.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Truist Financial set a $29.00 target price on NIKE and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on NIKE from $40.00 to $36.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Williams Trading downgraded NIKE from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Hold rating and ten have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $41.19.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on NKE

NIKE Stock Up 1.9%

NYSE:NKE opened at $34.60 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.07, a quick ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $38.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.51. NIKE has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $71.58. The stock has a market cap of $51.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.09.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The footwear maker reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.05. NIKE had a net margin of 6.74% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The firm had revenue of $11.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. NIKE has set its FY 2027 guidance at 1.150-1.350 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that NIKE will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

NIKE Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st were issued a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 1st. NIKE’s dividend payout ratio is presently 78.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Amy Montagne sold 4,867 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.05, for a total transaction of $204,657.35. Following the sale, the insider owned 57,436 shares in the company, valued at $2,415,183.80. This represents a 7.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Philip McCartney sold 2,559 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.59, for a total value of $96,192.81. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 78,121 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,936,568.39. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,974 shares of company stock valued at $600,126. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of NIKE

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park National Corp OH grew its position in shares of NIKE by 25.2% in the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 698,565 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $24,729,000 after acquiring an additional 140,387 shares during the period. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of NIKE by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 398,000 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $14,089,000 after purchasing an additional 199,000 shares during the period. Rockland Trust Co. lifted its stake in NIKE by 14.9% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 633,768 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $22,435,000 after purchasing an additional 82,308 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in NIKE by 873.8% in the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 2,720,616 shares of the footwear maker’s stock valued at $96,310,000 after purchasing an additional 2,441,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in NIKE by 8.5% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 106,883 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $4,388,000 after purchasing an additional 8,338 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.25% of the company’s stock.

NIKE News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting NIKE this week:

Positive Sentiment: NIKE is showing improvement in performance categories such as running and basketball, while its sports performance business is growing even as sportswear and lifestyle franchises struggle. Why You Need To Pay Attention to Nike Stock
Positive Sentiment: Management is targeting $2.5 billion in cumulative “Pace” savings through fiscal 2031 while maintaining investments in innovation and marketing. The dividend yield has also become more attractive following the stock’s prolonged decline. NIKE’s Cost Controls vs. Growth Investments
Neutral Sentiment: The launch of Caitlin Clark’s global signature collection could support consumer engagement, but investors do not yet view it as sufficient to offset broader brand and demand weakness. NIKE Trades Below Its Usual Earnings Multiple
Negative Sentiment: Although quarterly EPS exceeded estimates, revenue missed expectations and declined year over year. Investors remain concerned about weak forward guidance, declining core franchises, margin pressure and intense competition from local brands in China. How Are Investors Weighing Nike Following the Q1 Print?
Negative Sentiment: Berenberg downgraded NIKE to Sell and cut its price target from $49 to $27.50, arguing that the market structure has shifted against the company. Other commentators, including Jim Cramer, are advising investors to avoid bottom-fishing the stock. Nike Stock Downgraded
Negative Sentiment: S&P Global Ratings lowered NIKE’s credit rating to A from A+ with a negative outlook, adding to concerns about execution risk and the company’s ability to fund its recovery. Nike Stock Slips as S&P Downgrades Credit Rating

NIKE Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

NIKE, Inc is a global sportswear company that designs, develops, markets and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and related services. Its products are marketed under the NIKE, Jordan and Converse brands and are used across a broad range of sports and lifestyle activities, including running, basketball, football, training and outdoor pursuits.

The company distributes its products through a combination of wholesale partners, NIKE-owned retail stores and digital platforms.