Why Is Nike Stock Falling Thursday?

Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) shares slid in Thursday’s premarket trading, extending a sharp 15.51% drop from the prior session that pushed the stock to a new 52-week low. The decline came despite a fiscal third-quarter earnings beat, as a weak forward outlook overshadowed the results. Broader market pressure added to the negative sentiment. Nasdaq futures fell 2.09% early Thursday, while S&P 500 futures declined 1.16%. Earnings Beat Met With Skepticism Nike reported third-quarter revenue of $11.3 billion. Adjusted earnings reached 35 cents per share, topping the 26-cent estimate. Despite this, revenue remained flat year-over-year. Nike’s sales and operating margin came in slightly ahead of consensus estimates, Telsey Advisory Group analyst Cristina Fernández said. China And EMEA Woes Persist While North America grew 3%, international trends remain challenging, and China continues to be “a pressure point”, according to Needham analyst Tom Nikic. He cited “unhealthy inventory levels” in China. Guggenheim Securities analyst Simeon Siegel added that performance in the EMEA region was “worse than expected.” Guidance Miss Weighs On Outlook Management expects fourth-quarter sales between $10.656 billion and $10.878 billion. This sits well below the $11.236 billion Street estimate. Analyst Consensus & Recent Actions The stock carries a Buy Rating with an average price target of $66.85. Recent analyst moves include: Citigroup: Neutral (Lowers Target to $53.00) (April 1) JP Morgan: Downgraded to Neutral (Target $52.00) (April 1) Barclays: Overweight (Lowers Target to $67.00) (April 1) NKE Technical Levels At $43.97, Nike is trading 18.2% below its 20-day simple moving average (SMA), the stock’s average price over the last 20 sessions. It’s also 28.7% below its 100-day SMA. The relative strength index (RSI), a momentum gauge, is 20.44, which is deeply oversold. Key Resistance: $53.50 Key Support: $44.50 NKE Price Action: Nike shares were down 1.90% at $43.78 during premarket trading on Thursday. The stock is trading at a new 52-week low, according to Benzinga Pro data. Photo by Tada Images via Shutterstock