Stifel Nicolaus Maintains Buy on Nike

Stifel Nicolaus is out with its report today on Nike NKE, maintaining Buy. In its report, Stifel Nicolaus writes, "U.S. Back-to-school checks show Nike remains on top of its footwear game. Our in-store and phone checks with over 100 US retail locations (DKS DKS, TSA, FL FL, FINL FINL, Champs) highlighted strong back-to-school demand for Nike footwear product. A NIKE shoe was referenced as the top seller/most popular in 74% of the 100 plus checks (68% men's, 80% women's), approximately equivalent to the 77% of the checks in 2010. Standouts are the lightweight running offerings, most notably the Nike Free (Run and TR), the Air Max, and the Lunar Series." Shares of NKE closed Friday at $86.29.