Two Wall Street analysts "raised their rating" on Nike yesterday, sending the company's shares to an "all-time high" at the close of the market, according to Lisa Fickenscher of the N.Y. POST. Nike shares "jumped" 3.1% to $82.18 per share. Susquehanna Financial analyst Sam Poser raised his outlook for Nike in a research note "to positive from neutral." At the same time, Piper Jaffray analyst Erinn Murphy "raised her rating to overweight from neutral, citing an 'extremely healthy' athletic shoe market." After "three straight quarters of revenue declines" in North America, Nike posted a 3% "gain in the most recent quarter" that ended in May (N.Y. POST, 8/21). CNBC's Sara Eisen said Nike has been a "strong story this year." CNBC's Mike Santoli said, "Wall Street has just embraced this idea that they're at a good part of the cycle and strategically they're in the right spot" ("Closing Bell," CNBC, 8/20).
NIKE ON TRACK: CNBC's Brian Sullivan said Nike was upgraded because they are "managing inventory better, (and) they're keeping things people want a little more scarce so they have more pricing power." CNBC's Stephen Weiss said Nike "lost so much of their senior management, they lost the heir apparent ... but yet they have still "put up great numbers each quarter." CNBC's Josh Brown said the footwear trend overall is "more supportive of Nike than maybe it would [be] for other shoe brands that are selling through department stores, and I think that's something that we should all be mindful of in the background" ("Fast Money Halftime Report," CNBC, 8/20).
At presstime, shares of Nike were trading at $82.24 per share, which would represent another all-time high (THE DAILY).
