Nike beats on earnings, stock hits all-time high

Cowen and Company reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Nike in a research report on Sunday, September 27th.

“Nike’s guidance implies that wholesale revenues (minus-FX pressures) will only grow by low-to-mid-single digits in the [second half] despite orders from retailers growing by more than 20 percent for that period”, Binetti wrote.

Canaccord Genuity reiterated a Neutral rating and raised its price target to $132 from $123. Of those thirty-two, twenty-seven have a Buy rating, five have a Hold rating. NKE now earns an A-rating in Portfolio Grader, earning it a “Strong Buy” recommendation.

In other news, insider Jeanne P. Jackson sold 12,500 shares of Nike stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 16th.

Even with an increasingly volatile macroeconomic environment in China, analysts continue to be impressed by Nike’s ability to produce robust revenues in the region quarter after quarter. Gerstein Fisher now owns 7,758 shares of the footwear maker’s stock worth $954,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period.

Revenue rose 4.1 percent to $7.69 billion. Nike shares advanced 2% to $134.50. The stock had a trading volume of 13,720,192 shares. The stock popped higher around 3% to an all-time high of $135 in after hours trade on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $129.68 and a 200-day moving average of $118.67. The company has a market cap of $109.38 billion and a P/E ratio of 32.52. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Nike from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Nike had gained 37 percent this year through the close on Tuesday. The newly issued shares will be issued to shareholders after the closing bell on Wednesday, December 23rd.

Analysts monitoring the consumer goods sector have released new ratings on Nike (NYSE: NKE) and Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).

This beat analysts’ earnings expectations; the consensus estimate was for 86 cents per share, so Nike posted a 4.7% earnings surprise. As of the end of the second quarter, a total of 92 million shares were bought back under the repurchase plan for $7.2 billion, at a mean cost of almost $78.19 apiece. With one of the most recognizable brands in the world, long-term investors may do very well adding shares here despite the big move up in the stock this year.

Other income, net was $34 million comprised primarily of net foreign currency exchange gains, and a favorable settlement of a legal judgment related to a bankruptcy case in Western Europe.