Nike stock rose Thursday after the Dow Jones sports apparel behemoth received an upgrade from BofA Securities, citing the Paris Olympics as a catalyst. Rival sports retailers and footwear stocks were mixed Thursday.
Bank of America Thursday morning upgraded Nike to a buy rating, from neutral, and hiked its price target to 113 from 110. Estimates are bottoming and "finally look achievable," according to a note reported by The Fly.com. BofA added that the stock's multiple had compressed during the stock's recent pullback. It also mentioned upcoming catalysts, primary among those being the Paris Olympics this summer.
Meanwhile, Nike is coming off its Q3 earnings beat from late March, which included a forecast for revenue to decline in the low single digits in the first half of fiscal 2025. Nike's earnings growth accelerated over the past three quarters while revenue growth slowed the last five periods.
The athletic company in February announced plans to reduce its workforce by 2%, or more than 1,600 people, the Wall Street Journal reported, as part of an effort to cut $2 billion in costs over the next three years.
Nike has not yet announced a date for its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. But reporting among other Dow Jones Industrial Average listings begins on Friday with JPMorgan.
JPMorgan is trading just off highs, up almost 23% from a December breakout.
In the coming week, Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson, UnitedHealth Group and Travelers are all set to deliver results. In that group, Travelers is the year's fastest mover — up more than 20% — with FactSet projecting an 18% earnings gain and a 15% jump in revenue. The others face lower targets, so surprises are possible. Goldman is poised for a rebound from support. Travelers is also testing support, after a clean run up following its January breakout.
Nike Stock Performance
After an almost four-month long pullback, Nike stock is trading right around its lows from September. Year to date, share are down around 15.3%.
NKE stock swung 3.4% higher Thursday, putting it in striking distance of short-term support levels.
Other footwear stocks were mixed Thursday. On Holding climbed 2.2%. Allbirds pared early declines to 0.44% on the day.
Rival Addidas inched up after ticking down in the morning.
Meanwhile, Hoka maker Deckers Outdoor rose 1.2% while Skechers eased a fraction.
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