Company Update: Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) – Fitbit Surges 14% on Bullish Notes, Nike Chatter, and Report It Saved Someone’s Life

[at Barrons.com] – Shares of fitness bracelet and smartwatch maker Fitbit (FIT) are up $1.81, or 12%, at $16.95, following positive notes from the Street about sales, a rumor of Nike (NKE) wanting to buy it, and a miracle story of a men’s life saved by the Fitbit. Citigroup’s Stanley Kovler, who has a Buy on the shares, and a $30 price target, writes that the company’s forecast for this year — $2.4 billion to $2.5 billion in sales — “may prove conservative.” Writes Kovler, “After mis-executing on product releases (Blaze), product transitions (Charge to Alta), and higher opex guidance for CY16 in early Q1’16, we believe the recent announcement of 2M+ in Blaze & Alta sell-in now sets up for a positive Q1 and Q2 guide.” Kovler expects “upside to Q1 guide and positive Q2 outlook to propel shares off recent lows.” His Q1 estimate is $460 million and 4 cents a share, up from his prior $430 million and 1 penny-per-share estimate. Read more on this. NIKE, Inc. (NKE) , with a current market cap of $100.38B, opened this morning at $59.02. Today’s price range has been between $58.83 and $59.95 per share and has traded between $47.25 and $68.19 over the past year. NKE shares are currently priced at 27.11x this year’s forecasted earnings, which makes them relatively expensive compared to the industry’s 18.49x earnings multiple. The company pays shareholders $0.64 per share annually in dividends, yielding 1.08%. In a review of the consensus earnings estimate this quarter, 28 sell-side analysts are looking at $0.48 per share, which would be $0.01 worse than the year-ago quarter and a $0.06 sequential decrease. The full-year EPS estimate is $2.16 which would be a $0.31 improvement than last year’s full-year earnings. The quarterly earnings estimate is predicated on a consensus revenue forecast of $8.29 Billion. If reported, that would be a 6.56% increase over the year-ago quarter. More recently, BB&T Capital Mkts upgraded NKE from Hold to Buy (Oct 19, 2015). Previously, DA Davidson upgraded NKE from Neutral to Buy. The average price target for NKE shares is $70.51, which is 19.47% above where the stock opened this morning. See more in (NYSE:NKE) Similar Articles: Company Update: Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) – NIKE Unveils a Wave of Innovation That Defines the Future of Sport Market Update: Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) – NIKE, Inc. Declares $0.16 Quarterly Dividend Stock Update: Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) – Technical Coverage on Textile – Apparel Footwear & Accessories Equities — NIKE Inc., Coach, Skechers U.S.A., and Foot Locker