A Closer Look at Nike's Options Market Dynamics

Investors with a lot of money to spend have taken a bearish stance on Nike NKE.

And retail traders should know.

We noticed this today when the trades showed up on publicly available options history that we track here at Benzinga.

Whether these are institutions or just wealthy individuals, we don't know. But when something this big happens with NKE, it often means somebody knows something is about to happen.

So how do we know what these investors just did?

Today, Benzinga's options scanner spotted 36 uncommon options trades for Nike.

This isn't normal.

The overall sentiment of these big-money traders is split between 47% bullish and 52%, bearish.

Out of all of the special options we uncovered, 17 are puts, for a total amount of $1,095,774, and 19 are calls, for a total amount of $1,103,727.

Projected Price Targets

After evaluating the trading volumes and Open Interest, it's evident that the major market movers are focusing on a price band between $75.0 and $120.0 for Nike, spanning the last three months.

Volume & Open Interest Development

Examining the volume and open interest provides crucial insights into stock research. This information is key in gauging liquidity and interest levels for Nike's options at certain strike prices. Below, we present a snapshot of the trends in volume and open interest for calls and puts across Nike's significant trades, within a strike price range of $75.0 to $120.0, over the past month.

Nike Option Activity Analysis: Last 30 Days

Largest Options Trades Observed:

About Nike

Nike is the largest athletic footwear and apparel brand in the world. Key categories include basketball, running, and football (soccer). Footwear generates about two thirds of its sales. Its brands include Nike, Jordan, and Converse (casual footwear). Nike sells products worldwide through company-owned stores, franchised stores, and third-party retailers. The firm also operates e-commerce platforms in more than 40 countries. Nearly all its production is outsourced to contract manufacturers in more than 30 countries. Nike was founded in 1964 and is based in Beaverton, Oregon.

Present Market Standing of Nike

• With a trading volume of 4,195,317, the price of NKE is up by 1.38%, reaching $101.65.
• Current RSI values indicate that the stock is is currently neutral between overbought and oversold.
• Next earnings report is scheduled for 0 days from now.

Professional Analyst Ratings for Nike

A total of 5 professional analysts have given their take on this stock in the last 30 days, setting an average price target of $114.8.

• Consistent in their evaluation, an analyst from Citigroup keeps a Buy rating on Nike with a target price of $125.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from B of A Securities continues to hold a Neutral rating for Nike, targeting a price of $120.
• Maintaining their stance, an analyst from Morgan Stanley continues to hold a Overweight rating for Nike, targeting a price of $124.
• In a cautious move, an analyst from Williams Trading downgraded its rating to Sell, setting a price target of $85.
• An analyst from Telsey Advisory Group has decided to maintain their Outperform rating on Nike, which currently sits at a price target of $120.

Options are a riskier asset compared to just trading the stock, but they have higher profit potential. Serious options traders manage this risk by educating themselves daily, scaling in and out of trades, following more than one indicator, and following the markets closely.

If you want to stay updated on the latest options trades for Nike, Benzinga Pro gives you real-time options trades alerts.