Analysts are again lowering their expectations on Nike stock
Analysts are weighing in on athletic apparel manufacturer Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE), discount retailer Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR), and car stock AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN). Here's a quick roundup of today's bearish brokerage notes on shares of NKE, DLTR, and AN.
More Bearish Analyst Attention for Nike Stock
Telsey Advisory Group cut its price target on Nike stock to $62 from $66, while Canaccord Genuity reiterated its "hold" rating and $51 price target. The latter firm says it views the "risk/reward as tilting downward" for NKE heading into the company's earnings release later this month.The shares are down 0.4% this morning at $52.41. While NKE stock remains higher on a year-to-date basis, it's come under pressure recently, and remains well below its 2017 high of $59. In the meantime, near-term options traders are more put-skewed than usual. This is according to Nike's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.17, which ranks in the 89th annual percentile.
Analysts Weigh in on Dollar Tree Stock
Telsey also weighed in on DLTR stock, lowering its price target to $88 from $96. Meanwhile, Loop Capital suggested yesterday the company should try to offload its struggling Family Dollar business to another retailer -- namely Amazon -- which the brokerage firm believes would result in upside for the stock.
Shares of Dollar Tree were last seen up 0.2% at $68.16, paring their year-over-year decline to 25.9%. In fact, they touched an annual low of $65.63 just last Friday as retail stocks sold off in the wake of the Amazon-Whole Foods news. The stock still has some analysts in the bulls' corner, though, with eight brokerage firms issuing "strong buy" recommendations. Plus, its average 12-month price target stands at $90.45.
AN Stock Keeps Sliding Amid Short Selling Pressure
AutoNation stock has dipped 1.6% to $38.76, after a price-target cut to $46 from $50 at Deutsche Bank. The shares have struggled mightily since topping out at $53.74 in January, and short sellers have been piling on. Specifically, short interest on AN stock is up nearly 45% since the start of the year, and now accounts for almost 13% of its float. Going by average daily volumes, it would take these bears more than seven sessions to cover their positions.