Nike (NKE) is gearing up for its fiscal third-quarter earnings report, due after the close on Thursday, March 20. Zacks Research anticipates earnings of 28 cents per share this time around, 6% higher than the same quarter last year.
Over the last two years, Nike stock finished seven of eight post-earnings sessions lower, including a 20% drop last June. It’s safe to say it would be surprising if this was the report that bucked the trend. The company’s persistent turnaround initiatives could create short-term headwinds. Plus, several retail companies have posted negative revisions over the past few weeks, and Nike’s global reach could be susceptible to the overarching trade policy uncertainty.
On the charts, NKE was last seen trading at $73.10 – a far cry from its Nov. 5, 2021 record high of $179.10. Recently, the stock bounced off a Feb. 7 nearly five-year low of $68.62, but the rally was cut short around the $80 region, home to long-term pressure at its 200-day moving average. Year-over-year, the equity is down 25.8%.
Despite the stock’s technical troubles, 18 of the 33 brokerages covering NKE maintain “buy” or better rankings, with only two “strong sells” on the books. And with a consensus 12-month price target of $87.18 a 19% premium to its current perch, another lackluster post-earnings reaction could further shift the analyst backdrop.
Puts have been more popular than usual leading up to the event, though calls are still winning out on an absolute basis. This per NKE’s 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.84 at the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX). This ratio ranks higher than 94% of readings from the past year.
Read the full article here
