NKE NIKE, Inc.

Price Chart

Executive Summary

Wells Fargo double downgraded NKE from Overweight to Equal-Weight on May 8, slashing its price target to $45 from $55, implying 4.7% upside from the current $42.98. The firm, with a 55% accuracy rate on 6,036 calls and a 3.6% average return, is now below the consensus mean target of $60.49. The broader consensus is mixed: 22 Buy, 21 Hold, 2 Sell out of 45 analysts. The new $45 target sits well below the median of $55 and the high of $120, but above the low of $23. Momentum is decisively bearish: zero upgrades in 30 days, multiple downgrades from HSBC, Piper Sandler, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan since April. EPS revisions are overwhelmingly negative — 18 downward revisions for the current quarter and 31 for next year. Insider buying provides a strong contrarian signal: five insider buys totaling ~$3.7M in April from directors and executives, including CEO Timothy D. Cook and Chairman Elliott Hill. Short interest is elevated at 58.4% of float. The convergence of analyst downgrades, negative EPS revisions, and high short interest is bearish, but the insider buying cluster is a powerful bullish contra-signal. Bottom line: the double downgrade from a mid-accuracy firm is directionally bearish but the insider buying cluster suggests the stock may be near a floor — traders should watch for a capitulation low before positioning long.

Impact Score

Consensus & Targets

Consensus is mixed: 10 Strong Buy, 12 Buy, 21 Hold, 2 Sell, 0 Strong Sell — 22 Buy vs 21 Hold/Sell. The 45-analyst consensus is tilted slightly bullish but with a large hold contingent, indicating uncertainty. Wells Fargo's downgrade moves it to the bearish side of consensus.

Current price: $42.98. Mean target: $60.49 (40.7% upside). Median: $55 (28.0% upside). High: $120 (179.2% upside). Low: $23 (46.5% downside). Wells Fargo's $45 target is 25.6% below the mean and 18.2% below the median, placing it in the bottom quartile of targets.

Recent Analyst Activity

30-day analyst activity: 0 upgrades, 0 downgrades (excluding the trigger). However, the broader trend is bearish: since April 1, NKE has seen downgrades from HSBC (Buy→Hold, PT $48), Piper Sandler (Overweight→Neutral, PT $50), Goldman Sachs (Buy→Neutral, PT $52), and JP Morgan (Overweight→Neutral, PT $52). EPS revisions are heavily negative: 18 downward revisions for the current quarter, 23 for the current year, and 31 for next year in the last 30 days. Estimates are being revised lower across all timeframes.

Firm Track Record — Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo accuracy: 55% on 6036 calls | avg return: 3.6%

Industry benchmark: mean 51% ± 11%. Top tier: ≥61% (mean + 1σ). Based on 15 firms with ≥5 scored calls.

Wells Fargo has a 55% accuracy rate on 6,036 calls with a 3.6% average return — slightly above the average firm covering NKE. Among firms with sufficient data, Wedbush leads at 67% (3 calls), TD Cowen at 60% (5 calls). Poor performers include B of A Securities (22% on 9 calls) and Telsey Advisory Group (22% on 18 calls). Wells Fargo's track record is solid but not top-tier.

Earnings Estimates

Next earnings: Jun 24, 2026

Cross-Platform Signals

Insider trades: Five insider buys totaling ~$3.7M in April from directors and executives (CEO Timothy D. Cook, Chairman Elliott Hill, and others) — a strong bullish signal opposing the bearish analyst action. Institutional changes: Bank of America trimmed 45.5% of its position; Norges Bank exited entirely; Renaissance Technologies also exited. Short interest is 58.4% of float, extremely high. The insider buying cluster diverges sharply from the analyst downgrade and institutional selling — a classic contrarian setup.

Documents Analyzed

Report based on filing metadata.

US Market Status