Nike (NKE) PT Upped to $101 at Piper Jaffray; 'Neutral' Maintained
Piper Jaffray analyst Erinn E. Murphy raised her price target on Nike (NYSE: NKE) to $101.00 (from $88.00) following Q3 results but stopped short of upgrading the stock and maintained a Neutral rating.
Murphy commented, "We are raising our PT to $102 following NKE's solid Q3 in which EPS came in at $0.89 vs. the Street's $0.84. Importantly, gross margins were up 140 bps Y/Y--besting our 100 bps estimate. Futures, ex-FX, were up 11% and up mid-teens ex the World Cup impact. Futures remain strong in NA--up 15%, spotlighting the athletic cycle remains squarely in-play. China and CEE saw futures up 23% and 21%. This indicates the athletic cycle has legs to go globally. Shares lifted during mgmt's commentary on the call of their underlying initial FY16 sales and EPS growth of HSD and HSD/LDD, respectively. While we are adjusting estimates for stiffer FX headwinds, we are increasing our PT from $88 to $101 after lifting our multiple from 22x to 26x. Remain Neutral on valuation."
The firm is trimming FY 2015 EPS from $3.52 to $3.50 and FY 2016 EPS from $4.02 to $3.90.
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Shares of Nike closed at $98.32 yesterday.