Nike Stock In Focus As Barclays Cuts Price Target To $48 Ahead Of Q1 Earnings

• According to The Fly, Barclays said Nike’s recovery is prioritizing margins over sales growth, and that the path to renewed sales growth is likely to be uneven.
• Stifel also cut its Nike price target to $40 from $45, while StoneX initiated coverage with a Hold rating and no price target, according to The Fly.
• Nike had reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $11.0 billion, down 1% year over year.

NKE stock was in focus in premarket trading on Wednesday after Barclays cut its price target on the athleticwear giant to $48 from $52 while maintaining an ‘Overweight’ rating, according to TheFly. The revision came as part of Barclays’ fiscal first-quarter (Q1) earnings preview.

NKE stock was trading in the green at the time of writing.

Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih said Nike’s turnaround is following a “margins before sales” recovery, while cautioning that the company’s path back to sales growth “will not be linear”, TheFly reported.

Nike is scheduled to report its fiscal first quarter 2027 results on Oct. 1.

Nike’s Turnaround Remains In Focus

Nike reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $11.0 billion, down 1% year over year. Wholesale revenue rose 4% to $6.6 billion, while NIKE Direct revenue fell 7% to $4.1 billion, including a 12% decline in NIKE Brand Digital.

NIKE Brand revenue was flat at $10.7 billion, with growth in North America offset by declines in Greater China and EMEA.

Nike CEO Elliott Hill said during the earnings release that the company continues to face “top-line headwinds” but is encouraged by progress in performance products. He added that Nike remains focused on consistent execution, improving profitability and scaling its wins to realize its full potential.

Other Brokerages Also Lower Nike Price Targets

Barclays’ price target reduction follows a recent cut from Stifel. Stifel analyst Peter McGoldrick lowered Nike’s price target to $40 from $45 on Sept. 21 while maintaining a ‘Hold’ rating, The Fly reported. 

The firm also lowered its fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 adjusted earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates by $0.20 each, citing a more promotional Western marketplace and a tougher fourth-quarter gross-margin comparison than previously modeled.

Separately, StoneX initiated coverage of Nike with a ‘Hold’ rating and no price target, according to The Fly. Analyst Zeyn Burak said the recovery could be “lengthy,” citing weakness in Nike’s lifestyle business, elevated promotions, excess inventory, and ongoing marketplace resets.

According to Koyfin data, 27 of 42 analysts rate NKE stock “Hold,” nine rate it “Strong Buy,” and one rates it “Buy.”

NKE stock: Retail View

Retail sentiment around NKE on Stocktwits was “bullish” over the past 24 hours, with "high" message volume.

NKE stock has dropped nearly 40% year-to-date.

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