Nike Shares Jump After JPMorgan Highlights Sales, Margin Inflection: 'Just Buy It'

Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) shares are trading higher Monday after JPMorgan upgraded the stock to Overweight.

What Happened: JPMorgan analyst Matthew Boss upgraded Nike from Neutral to Overweight and raised its price target from $64 to $93, telling clients to “just buy it” in a new note released on Monday.

Following a series of checks, the analyst firm raised its fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 estimates, citing five key takeaways.

The JPMorgan analyst said management confirmed that the company remains on track to return to a “healthy and clean” marketplace by the end of the first half of 2026 as Nike continues to take liquidation actions. Nike management is committed to achieving aligned inventory growth relative to sales growth globally, Boss said.

Wholesale orderbooks are starting to build momentum and JPMorgan expects the momentum to continue. The turnaround in orderbook growth is supported by product innovation, which suggests turnaround efforts under CEO Elliot Hill are starting to show up in a meaningful way across the business.

Boss also highlighted a 10-K filing that shows approximately $552 million of sales-related reserves increases in the second half of 2025. Management flagged the year-over-year increase as “abnormal” due to wholesale partner momentum, which would “result in a YOY tailwind to 2H26 revenue growth of at least +350bps by our estimates,” the analyst said.

The JPMorgan analyst also highlighted an operating margin expansion opportunity of more than 500 basis points through fiscal 2028 with an incremental opportunity for 200 to 300 basis points of expansion beyond 2028.

As a result, JPMorgan raised its fiscal 2025 earnings estimates from $1.07 to $1.32 and lifted its 12-month price target to $93.

“NKE is the global athletic market leader with diversification across product categories, geographies, and distribution, and we see the model at an inflection for revenue growth to re-accelerate into 2H26/FY27 following several quarters of franchise product lifecycle management & inventory liquidation headwinds,” the analyst said.

NKE Price Action: Nike shares were up 3.2% at $78.60 at the time of publication Monday, according to Benzinga Pro.

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