Nike opened sharply lower on Wall Street on Friday, following the publication of lower-than-expected sales and, above all, forecasts deemed disappointing by the market.

The sporting goods manufacturer's shares, which were already down 13% this year at yesterday's close, fell 16% at the start of the session, marking by far the biggest drop in the Dow Jones index.

The stock is thus back to its lowest level in over four years.

In the three months to the end of May, the last quarter of its 2023/2024 financial year, the American sports equipment giant saw its net profit climb by 45% to $1.5 billion.

But its sales fell by 2% to $12.6 billion, against a consensus target of $12.9 billion.

Following this disappointing performance, the Beaverton, Oregon-based group warned that it no longer expected slight sales growth in the new 2024/2025 financial year, and now anticipates a decline of around 5%.

Many analysts lowered their targets for the group after the publication.

The teams at Bank of America, who are maintaining their buy recommendation on the stock, indicate that they have reduced their target from $113 to $104, citing a revision of targets that is 'more pronounced than anticipated'.

'The Chinese market is fragile and the global economic context remains heavy', BofA justifies in its note.

Wedbush Securities is concerned about the recurring difficulties of the world's number one in this sector, whose turnaround is still a long way off.

'This long-standing flagship continues to encounter surprising difficulties, and we believe that investors' patience with the management team is wearing thin by the day', stresses the broker.

From a long-term perspective, Nike has been one of the best growth stories we've covered, and we're still hopeful that the brand will regain its 'mojo'," he adds.

"But it looks like we'll have to wait longer than expected for that to happen," concludes Wedbush.

Nike's warning dragged down the entire sector, including its great German rival adidas (-0.4%) and American newcomer Under Armour (-2.4%).

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