Nike Stock News

Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE, XETRA:NKE) should show continued first-quarter progress as North America and wholesale stabilize, Jefferies wrote, although a slower, more promotional industry backdrop tempers the quarterly outlook. The broker expects better-positioned inventories to support a cleaner marketplace, with management bringing forward expectations for gross margin expansion to the first quarter.

Once one of its best markets, the country is now a major cause of the sportswear giant's sinking fortunes.

The retailer's first-quarter earnings on Thursday could give investors a reason to buy the dip, Jefferies says.

Nike enters earnings with its shares near a 12-year low and Wall Street unwilling to give the turnaround the benefit of the doubt. The stock closed Friday at $35.75, down 44% this year, after Bank of America became the latest brokerage to warn that the recovery could take longer than investors expect.

This week will bring the September jobs report and data on personal consumption, manufacturing, and home prices. Carnival, Conagra, and Jefferies report earnings.

Nike (NKE) shares have come under pressure on Friday after a Bank of America analyst, Lorraine Hutchinson, downgraded the athletic footwear company to underperform. In her research note, Hutchinson lowered her price target on NKE to $30, signalling potential downside of another 15% from current levels.

Nike cofounder Phil Knight and his wife, Penny, are committing $1 billion to the Knight College of Engineering at the University of Oregon, the university announced Wednesday.

Nike's turnaround is looking like it might take a lot longer than expected, according to Bank of America.