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Investing.com - Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) maintained its Equalweight rating and $64.00 price target on Nike (NYSE:NKE) stock in a research note released Tuesday. The sportswear giant, currently trading at $73.14 with a market cap of $108 billion, maintains a GOOD overall financial health score according to InvestingPro analysis.
The investment firm identified several factors contributing to Nike’s recent struggles, including the loss of customers in the sub-$100 product segment, departure of key product and innovation talent, and over-reliance on core franchises. This assessment aligns with InvestingPro data showing 14 analysts revising their earnings expectations downward for the upcoming period.
Morgan Stanley highlighted running as a critical category for driving brand momentum across Nike’s broader footwear business, noting April 2026 as the next milestone for running innovation, while non-running innovation is viewed more as a fiscal year 2027 development.
The firm outlined several potential growth drivers for Nike to achieve mid-single-digit to high-single-digit long-term growth, including wholesale re-entry, recapturing sub-$100 volume customers, rebuilding footwear experience and personnel, and international market expansion.
Morgan Stanley expressed skepticism about Nike’s prospects in China, suggesting the steady-state growth profile in that market may range from flat to low-single-digit percentage increases. Based on InvestingPro’s Fair Value analysis, Nike currently appears fairly valued in the market.
In other recent news, Nike has been the focus of several analyst updates and evaluations. Argus upgraded Nike’s stock rating from Hold to Buy, setting a price target of $85.00. This decision is based on Nike’s recovery efforts, including successful inventory clearance and enhanced e-commerce strategies. Similarly, Bernstein maintained an Outperform rating with a $85.00 target, noting progress in Nike’s inventory management and order book growth, though challenges remain in certain product lines. Truist Securities also raised its price target to $85.00, citing improved turnaround efforts and better-than-expected channel inventory management. Piper Sandler increased its price target to $80.00, acknowledging Nike’s fiscal first-quarter 2026 sales guidance as more favorable than expected and highlighting positive trends in wholesale demand. Meanwhile, Empire Company saw its stock price target raised by BMO Capital to C$55.00 following its fourth-quarter fiscal 2025 results, which showed strengthening shopper behavior. BMO remains cautious about further sales acceleration but is optimistic about Empire’s gross margin expansion. These recent developments provide investors with insights into the current performance and future prospects of Nike and Empire Company.
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