5 Stocks In Trouble as Americans Cut Back on Spending

2. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 67

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) is an American multinational company that offers athleisure, sports equipment, and accessories. On June 29, Barclays analyst Adrienne Yih cut the price target on NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) to $125 from $140 and reiterated an Overweight rating on the shares after the fiscal Q4 earnings. NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s guidance for fiscal 2023 indicates below consensus earnings given the short-term pressure on inventory due to the situation in China, the analyst told investors. The analyst also reaffirmed that while NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE)’s algorithm through fiscal 2025 “should remain intact”, upside is possibly limited due to overall consumer slowdown as economic pressures plough on.

In Q1 2022, NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) was found to be part of 67 hedge fund portfolios, with collective stakes worth about $4 billion, compared to 68 funds in the previous quarter, with stakes in the company valued at $5.4 billion. Ken Fisher’s Fisher Asset Management is the leading position holder in NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE), with 8.2 million shares worth $1.11 billion. 

Here is what ClearBridge All Cap Growth Strategy has to say about NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) in its Q4 2021 investor letter:

“Nike is another play on e-commerce as well as the anticipated growth in consumer spending as we learn to live with COVID-19. After selling out of the stock in 2016 due to competitive concerns, we were motivated to repurchase shares because of optimism around a new management team’s focus on accelerating Nike’s shift toward e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (DTC) distribution. Near-term supply chain issues in Vietnam and retail weakness in China that we see as ephemeral provided a good buying opportunity. We do not believe the market is giving proper credit to Nike’s potential to deliver attractive, high-single-digit revenue growth while delivering operating margin expansion as more merchandise is sold directly. Nike is also still under indexed to the women’s category, which we see as a significant ongoing catalyst.”