Perhaps one of the longest-running partnerships that shoe giant Nike (NYSE:NKE) has ever had is with golf pro Tiger Woods. But that partnership came to an end today, and Nike’s investors pushed shares up slightly in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Woods delivered strong praise for Nike and his colleagues on X, formerly Twitter, offering specific notice to “…Phil Knight’s passion and vision….” Meanwhile, Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, declared the move a “business decision” that’s apparently been in the making for the last several months, according to reports.
Nike was equally effuse in its praise for Woods, declaring him “…one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen.” It’s unclear where Woods will go after departing from Nike, if anywhere. But since this didn’t come as a surprise, it hasn’t really done much damage to Nike.
Nike Abandoning the Golf Field?
Speculation has already begun—as it so often does—as to what all this means. Will Tiger’s departure prompt Nike to pull out of golf altogether? There are certainly those who doubt Nike’s ability to stick around in the field without a major name like Tiger Woods to get them in the door. Nike also lost another in its golf arsenal: a previous PGA Championship winner, Jason Day, pulled out of Nike to work with Malbon Golf. That’s two losses in as many weeks for Nike, though not necessarily in some of its biggest markets.
Is Nike a Buy, Hold, or Sell
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on NKE stock based on 20 Buys, nine Holds, and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 16.38% loss in its share price over the past year, the average NKE price target of $123.76 per share implies 19.74% upside potential.
