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Nike IncNKEBUYAug 13, 2015Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Aug 28, 2026. Market Open.
Several levels of trouble. He added recently ~$45. Not looking for homeruns. Potential for it to get back up to mid-upper $50s is realistic. Still very expensive at 30x forward PE. Unless they can figure out the China headwinds, it will struggle. Every time it rallies, it's likely to a lower high. Selloffs will be to lower lows.
Growth story for decades, but now a mature clothing company. A trade, not an investment.
He had bought NKE as a turnaround story, which didn't really play out so he exited. Both are retail turnarounds with very strong brands. Logistically, it's very hard to turn around a brand and rejig the supply chain. These turnarounds take longer, with significantly more risk. (Compare that to a TD, which just had to cope with the one-time charge of a financial penalty.)
For NKE, with growing anti-American sentiment it could be hard to turn things around. LULU could, sometime, be a takeout target by private equity or another retailer. But that's not a reason to buy, especially when earnings and cashflow are still declining.
The principle of buying stocks whose products you use makes a great deal of sense. Eventually these things will turn around. But a stock that's been in decline for half a decade usually takes a bit of time to bounce back, and would probably need to build a bit of a base. (Whereas short, sharp declines can have short, sharp rebounds.)
Insider buying is a good sign. Likes US brands. Notwithstanding sentiment toward the US at this time, there's still an interest in the US as more investors are able to invest (such as Korea).
It is consumer discretionary and so fits clearing into his theme of consumers spending money. They now sell to consumers coordinated outfits. They are buying back a lot of stock and achieving double digit growth in China. They are doing a great job of growing. As long as it can continue to execute the multiple can continue to expand.