TLDR
- Nike stock trades around $36, close to its 52-week low of $35.22.
- Piper Sandler cut its price target to $38 and kept a Neutral rating before Nike’s October 1 earnings.
- Deutsche Bank lowered its target to $37, pointing to weak China demand and margin pressure.
- Evercore warns retailers may have pulled back Spring 2027 orders, raising the risk of a lower second-half outlook.
- Wall Street holds a Hold consensus rating on the stock, with price targets ranging from roughly $37 to $47.
Nike stock trades near $36 a share, sitting close to its 52-week low of $35.22. The stock is down about 25% since its last earnings report and roughly 53% below its year-ago peak.
The company reports first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings on October 1. Analysts are watching closely, and the notes have been piling up.
Piper Sandler cut its price target on Nike to $38 from $45 on Monday. The firm kept a Neutral rating and said the stock is down 42% year to date.
Deutsche Bank also trimmed its target, moving from $45 to $37 while keeping a Hold rating. That implies only about 5% upside from current levels.
Both firms pointed to the same issue. Nike already guided for first-quarter revenue to fall by a low-to-mid-single-digit percentage, and the next quarter could be weaker still.
Retailers May Be Pulling Back Orders
Evercore ISI analyst Michael Binetti raised a separate concern. He said some retailers appear to have reduced or canceled Spring 2027 orders.
That could push Nike toward lowering its second-half fiscal 2027 outlook before its November investor day. Wall Street currently expects sales to bottom around 4% below last year in the first half, then flatten out later in the year.
Stifel analyst Peter McGoldrick flagged weak demand for new products. He also noted that Nike’s Hoops Classics line, about 18% of revenue, keeps shrinking.
Nike’s brand has taken some hits too. Soccer star Kylian Mbappe ended his deal with Nike to join On Holding.
Dick’s Sporting Goods also said heavy Nike discounting has weighed on parts of its own business. Nike is trying to clear older inventory while pushing customers toward newer, full-price items.
A Mixed Picture From Wall Street
Ratings on the stock are split. Jefferies and BTIG both keep Buy ratings, with Jefferies forecasting $11.5 billion in first-quarter sales.
Bank of America moved the other way, downgrading Nike to Underperform with a $30 target. The firm cited slow sales recovery and pressure from Adidas.
Goldman Sachs cut its target to $38 while staying Neutral. StoneX started coverage with a Hold rating.
Piper Sandler’s own model calls for first-quarter sales down 3% and earnings of $0.37 per share, below the Street’s $0.43 estimate. The firm also lowered its gross margin estimate by 40 basis points.
China remains a weak spot. Pou Sheng, a Nike distributor there, reported further sales declines in July and August.
Nike’s last reported quarter showed revenue of $10.97 billion, down about 1% from a year earlier. Earnings of $0.20 per share beat estimates of $0.11.
Nike also recently replaced its CFO, giving management another reason to stay cautious on guidance until the November investor event. Nike reports first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings on October 1, 2026.
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