NKE Stock Slips Premarket: BofA Sees Longer Turnaround, Cuts Price Target To $30

• BofA lowered its EPS estimates for Nike's FY27 and FY28 by 11% and 12%, respectively.
• The Fly reported that BofA's FY27 EPS forecast for Nike is 14% below Visible Alpha consensus.
• Oppenheimer and Barclays also lowered their Nike price targets this week.

Nike (NKE) stock was in focus Friday after Bank of America Corporation (BofA) downgraded the athleticwear giant to 'Underperform' from 'Neutral' and cut the price target to $30 from $47, citing a longer-than-expected turnaround and weak earnings expectations, according to The Fly.

NKE stock was down about 2% in premarket trading at the time of writing. The latest call follows a string of Wall Street action, with Oppenheimer and Barclays lowering their price targets earlier this week, keeping pressure ahead of its earnings report due on October 1.

BofA Cuts Nike Earnings Estimates

Bank of America analyst Lorraine Hutchinson lowered Nike's fiscal 2027 and fiscal 2028 earnings-per-share (EPS) estimates by 11% and 12%, respectively, according to The Fly.

The analyst also expects Nike's sales to decline through fiscal 2027. BofA's FY27 EPS forecast is now 14% below Visible Alpha consensus.

Nike Draws A String Of Analyst Target Cuts 

Oppenheimer also cut its Nike price target on Wednesday, Sept. 23, lowering it to $52 from $60 while maintaining an 'Outperform' rating, according to The Fly. The firm's updated Secondary Market Shoe Tracker showed some improvement from its initial reading, potentially pointing to somewhat better underlying demand, particularly for collaborations and Kobe-branded products.

Barclays also lowered its price target to $48 from $52 on Sept. 23 while maintaining an 'Overweight' rating as part of its fiscal Q1 earnings preview, The Fly reported. Analyst Adrienne Yih said Nike's recovery is following a 'margins before sales' path and that the return to sales growth 'will not be linear.'

Nike’s Turnaround Remains In Focus

Nike's fiscal fourth-quarter revenue fell 1% year-over-year to $11.0 billion, while NIKE Direct revenue declined 7%. Greater China revenue also fell 17% on a reported basis. The company expects revenue to decline in the low- to mid-single digits through the first two quarters of fiscal 2027.

BofA said it sees downside risk to Nike's earnings estimates and valuation as the company's turnaround takes longer than expected, according to The Fly.

The company's upcoming fiscal first-quarter results will provide the next update on its turnaround. Nike is scheduled to report on Oct. 1 after the close of regular trading.

Retail View On NKE

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits for NKE turned 'Bearish' over the past 24 hours, with message volume at 'Normal.' NKE was also among the trending tickers on the platform at the time of writing.

NKE shares have declined more than 40% year-to-date.

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