Nike (NKE) is the largest global manufacturer of athletic footwear, apparel and equipment by sales volume, and competes with Sketchers (SKK), Adidas AG (ADDYY), Steve Madden (SHOO) and K-Swiss (KSWS) in the global footwear market. The company recently announced its Q3 2011 results. Although Nike's revenues increased 7% to $5.1 billion, the gross margin declined 110 basis points to 45.8% compared to same period last year. The decline in margin was basically because of higher product and freight costs.

We have highlighted these factors in our earlier note titled: Nike's Air Freighting Raises Questions on Inventory Management.

Continue reading Nike's Opportunity in Emerging Markets Outweighs Higher Costs

Nike's Opportunity in Emerging Markets Outweighs Higher Costs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Mar 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nike, Inc. (NKE) is doing horribly this afternoon. As I write this, a quote of $77.51 is on my screen. That represents a drop of over 9% for the shares. Volume is huge. Hopefully many of you out there didn't do an earnings trade on this one.

How bad were the fiscal Q3 numbers? According to MarketWatch, net income of $1.08 per share was four pennies below the overall call by Wall Street. In addition, the potential for a weakening gross margin is said to have played a part in the sell-off.

Continue reading Buyers Flee Nike After Earnings

Buyers Flee Nike After Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Siemens (SI) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• Diamond Offshore (DO) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• MeadWestvaco (MWV) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• TD AmeriTrade (AMTD) and Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) to buy from neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Janus Capital (JNS) to hold from sell at Citigroup.
• Motorola Mobility (MMI) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Frontier Communications (FTR) to neutral from underperform at Macquarie.
• Humana (HUM) to buy from hold at Argus.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AMTD, COG, DO, F, GM, HUM, LEA, MMI, NKE, SI, TRW ...

Analyst Calls: AMTD, COG, DO, F, GM, HUM, LEA, MMI, NKE, SI, TRW ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 18 Mar 2011 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nike, Inc. (NKE) is the largest global manufacturer of athletic footwear, apparel and equipment by sales volume, and competes with Sketchers, Adidas AG, Steven Madden and K-Swiss in the global footwear market. It sells its products under several brands including Nike, Nike Golf, Converse, Cole Haan, Umbro, and Hurley.

We maintain a $77.52 price estimate for Nike's stock, roughly 13% below market price.

Continue reading Nike's Stock Value Is Highly Sensitive to Its Footwear Business

Nike's Stock Value Is Highly Sensitive to Its Footwear Business originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Mar 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meets again this week to review economic conditions and set monetary policy. On whether the Fed should end quantitative easing or extend it, Atlanta Fed chairman Dennis Lockhart recently said that the Fed should remain flexible given the rising energy prices, which could be a sign of coming inflation. Either at this meeting or the next, the Fed could signal that interest rates will rise as a hedge against inflation.

Inflation will also be the focus when the Department of Labor releases the Producer Price Index (PPI) and Consumer Price Index (CPI) this week. Back in January the core PPI (which excludes energy and food costs) had its biggest jump in two years, and the core CPI had its largest uptick in more than year, the second month in a row in which consumer prices jumped.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Inflation, the FOMC and Nike Earnings

Week in Preview: Inflation, the FOMC and Nike Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 13 Mar 2011 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Nike: Time to Take Some Profits?

Nike: Time to Take Some Profits? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Mar 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The past week's data-point-of-consequence for investors had to be investment decisions by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A).

Buffett ended positions in several stocks in the fourth quarter, including the Bank of America (BAC), Nike (NKE), Fiserv (FISV), Becton Dickinson (BDX), Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), Lowe's Co.s (LOW), Nalco (NLC) and Nestle (NSRGY), according to a filing, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Berkshire added to a holding of only one stock in the fourth quarter: Wells Fargo (WFC).

Continue reading Tell-Tale Stat: Buffett's Berkshire Divests Bank of America, Nike Stakes

Tell-Tale Stat: Buffett's Berkshire Divests Bank of America, Nike Stakes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 19 Feb 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Polo Ralph Lauren (RL) to buy from hold at Citigroup.
• Qualcomm (QCOM) to buy from neutral at Roth Capital.
• Walgreen (WAG) to conviction buy from neutral at Goldman.
• Rockwell (ROK) to outperform from neutral at Credit Suisse.
• Carnival (CCL) to buy from hold at Deutsche Bank.
• SunTrust (STI) and TD Bank (TD) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• Hawaiian Electric (HE) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Essex Property Trust (ESS) to outperform from neutral at Macquarie.
• Amgen (AMGN) to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: EBAY, ERIC, MMI, MSI, NKE, QCOM, RL, ROK, SWY, WAG ...

Analyst Calls: EBAY, ERIC, MMI, MSI, NKE, QCOM, RL, ROK, SWY, WAG ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Athletic footwear and accessory giant Nike Inc. (NKE) sold off in after-hours trading as investors reacted to weaker-than-expected future orders, despite posting better-than-expected earnings and revenues during the quarter.

Quarterly earnings were up 22% from the same period last year to $0.94 per share, versus analyst estimates for $0.88. Revenues were up 10% during the quarter to $4.84 billion, compared to Wall Street estimates for $4.80 billion.

Continue reading Nike Sells Off on Weak Future Orders

Nike Sells Off on Weak Future Orders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Dec 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Nike Second Quarter Earnings Preview

Nike Second Quarter Earnings Preview originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Companies continue to file quarterly reports late in the season, and a few are poised to spread some early holiday cheer for investors this week. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect strong earnings results from Nike (NKE), Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) and Darden Restaurants (DRI), among others. Here's a quick look (for more details, see the DailyFinance Week in Preview).

Analysts forecast Nike's fiscal-second quarter earnings to come in at 88 cents per share, a 13.6% increase from the same period of last year. The world's leading athletic footwear maker also is expected to post revenue of $4.8 billion for the three months that ended in November. That's 9.3% more than the same period a year earlier. Note that Nike's earnings have not fallen short of consensus estimates in the past five quarters.

Continue reading Week in Preview: Late Season Earnings from Nike, Bed Bath & Beyond, Darden

Week in Preview: Late Season Earnings from Nike, Bed Bath & Beyond, Darden originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 19 Dec 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• Google (GOOG) to outperform from neutral at Wedbush.
• Nike (NKE) to buy from neutral at UBS.
• Apollo Group (APOL) to market perform from underperform at FBR Capital.
• JDSU (JDSU) to overweight from neutral at Piper Jaffray.
• NetApp (NTAP) to overweight from equal weight and Verigy (VRGY) to equal weight from underweight at Barclays.
• RSC Holdings (RRR) to outperform from neutral at RW Baird.
• Exelon (EXC) to buy from hold at Jefferies.
• Aon (AON) and Willis Group (WSH) to outperform from market perform at Keefe Bruyette.
• BMC Software (BMC) to outperform from neutral at Cowen.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: AON, APOL, EXC, GOOG, NKE, NTAP, RIMM, UA, VRGY ...

Analyst Calls: AON, APOL, EXC, GOOG, NKE, NTAP, RIMM, UA, VRGY ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Tom Brady Spurns Nike for Under Armour

Tom Brady Spurns Nike for Under Armour originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Nov 2010 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Nike (NKE) is performing wonderfully, which was evidenced by the company's blowout fiscal first quarter, which the company reported on September 23rd. Both EPS and revenue beat analysts' expectations.

Nike also reported that worldwide future orders for Nike footwear and apparel were up 10% compared to last year. This shows that the growth story at Nike remains intact. Investors clearly agree. The shares have risen 25% year to date.

Continue reading Nike Is Hitting On All Cylinders

Nike Is Hitting On All Cylinders originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Oct 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Analyst Upgrades

• FBR Capital upgraded Franklin Resources (BEN) to outperform from market perform and raised its target price for shares to $127 from $105 to reflect its belief the company is well positioned in the current environment.
• UBS upgraded Nuance (NUAN) to buy from neutral and has an $18 price target on the stock. The firm upgraded shares based on valuation and believes the company could be an acquisition target.
• Morgan Stanley upgraded DryShips (DRYS) to equal weight from underweight and has a $5.50 target on the stock. The firm cites the firmer ultra-deepwater drilling market for the upgrade.
• Becton Dickinson (BDX) was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman.
• Edwards Lifesciences (EW) was upgraded to market perform at Rodman & Renshaw.
• Arkansas Best (ABFS) was upgraded to neutral from underperform at BofA/Merrill.

Continue reading Analyst Calls: BCR, BEN, DRYS, INT, ISRG, NKE, NOK, NUAN, VCLK, ZMH ...

Analyst Calls: BCR, BEN, DRYS, INT, ISRG, NKE, NOK, NUAN, VCLK, ZMH ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Shares of athletic footwear and accessories giant Nike Inc. (NKE) are trading up nicely in after hours trading after the company posted better than expected results for its fiscal first quarter this afternoon following the market close.

Going into today's earnings report, analysts had been expecting to see the company post $1.01 per share, but Nike outpaced estimates with a reported $1.14 per share.

Continue reading Nike Posts Better-Than-Expected Q1 Earnings

Nike Posts Better-Than-Expected Q1 Earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Housing steps into the spotlight again this coming week. The release of the National Association of Homebuilders Housing Market Index starts out the week on Monday morning. Then on Tuesday morning, look for housing starts data from August. Release of the July FHFA House Price Index is scheduled for Wednesday. And numbers for existing home sales and for new home sales in August are due out Thursday and Friday, respectively. Overall, the housing market is expected to have continued to lose momentum in August, but less dramatically than in July.

Also on the economic calendar this week: Tuesday's FOMC meeting on interest rates, the Conference Board's Leading Economic Indicators Index for August on Thursday, initial jobless claims for last week, and durable goods orders data for August on Friday. No significant changes from the Fed are anticipated, but the leading economic indicators may rise a bit.

Continue reading The Week in Preview: Housing Data, Lennar's Earnings and More

The Week in Preview: Housing Data, Lennar's Earnings and More originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 19 Sep 2010 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Has Nike's 'Sideways Summer' Ended?

Has Nike's 'Sideways Summer' Ended? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I remember six years ago when the Beastie Boys released their newest album. It dealt with New York City and what it meant to the group -- hence the title, "To the 5 Boroughs." It seems that athletic shoe and apparel giant Nike (NKE) also will attempt to capitalize on the pride generated in each of the city's five boroughs, as it will release a limited edition line of shoes celebrating each of the boroughs.

These shoes will only be sold in New York, with select stores in each borough receiving the corresponding shoe. These shoes were produced for the inaugural World Basketball Festival that will take place from August 12 through August 15. The selected stores in Brooklyn will receive shoes with a black, plum, and white color scheme; a logo for the borough; and laces that identify the shoes as the Brooklyn edition.

Continue reading JockStocks: The Secret to Nike's Success

JockStocks: The Secret to Nike's Success originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading JockStocks: Is Under Armour on the Road to Recovery?

JockStocks: Is Under Armour on the Road to Recovery? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.