Nike Stock (Finally) Did It: Rallying After Earnings

Core Insights - Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) reported a significant increase in stock price, up 14.8% to $71.85, following better-than-expected fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 14 cents per share on $11.10 billion in revenue, marking its first positive post-earnings session in seven quarters [1] - The company indicated that the most challenging aspects of its turnaround efforts are behind it, although it anticipates a $1 billion impact from tariffs in the current fiscal year [1] Analyst Reactions - Analysts have responded positively, with 10 price-target hikes, the highest being from Evercore, raising its target to $90 from $75, and HSBC upgrading its rating to "buy" from "hold" [2] - The strong performance of Nike has positively influenced other retail sector peers, including Lululemon, Deckers Outdoor, and VF Corp, with the SPDR S&P Retail ETF also seeing a 1% increase [2] Stock Performance - Nike's stock is experiencing its best single-session gain since December 2022, breaking out of a months-long consolidation and trading at its highest level since a March 21 post-earnings bear gap of 5.5% [3] - Year-to-date, Nike's equity is down only 5%, indicating a recovery trend [3] Options Market Activity - Options traders are actively engaging, with over 271,000 calls traded, which is 22 times the average intraday volume and more than double the number of puts [5] - The most popular options include the weekly 6/27 70-strike call and August 60 calls [5] Volatility Insights - Nike has consistently exceeded options traders' volatility estimates, reflected in its Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) score of 82 out of 100, indicating a history of larger-than-expected price swings [6]