Nike ‘s stock is still looking expensive despite the already steep slide this year, according to Piper Sandler. The investment firm downgraded Nike to neutral from overweight. It also lowered its price target on shares to $50 from $60. Nike shares have plunged 31% since the beginning of the year, fueled by expectations the sportswear company’s sales could continue to slow amid a challenging macroeconomic environment. Late last month, Nike issued a lackluster sales outlook, which caused the shares to plunge by 15%. The stock has yet to recover. “Stock reset after F3Q26 print but is still not cheap at 22x our FY28E EPS and given absence of a catalyst (Investor Day not until 2H26) is likely in penalty box for now,” Piper Sandler analyst Anna Andreeva said Friday in a note to clients. NKE YTD mountain Nike shares are down 31% in the year to date. The sportswear company forecasted a sales dip in the range of 2% to 4% in the fiscal fourth quarter compared to the same period a year ago. That figure came in well below the 1.9% increase expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Nike pinned its expectations of a sales slump on its corporate strategy shift that has taken longer than anticipated to increase customers’ appetites for its brand. Sales are also likely to slow as Nike faces stiffer competition in key product segments such as athleisure, where some demand seems likely to dry up, Piper Sandler said. “We worry that Athleisure (aka Sportswear for NKE) is becoming too saturated across the industry, with frequency metrics at peakish levels,” Andreeva wrote. “Sport lifestyle (or athleisure, 37% of the space) is becoming more mature, with many brands looking similar and demand driven more by new entrants (like Solomon) as opposed to legacy players.” Piper Sandler’s call goes against consensus on the Street. Of the 40 analysts covering Nike, 21 have a buy or strong buy on the stock.
