Nike to see 'quick sentiment boost' from new CEO: Analyst

Ahead of Elliott Hill taking over as Nike (NKE) CEO this Monday, Truist upgrades Nike to Buy from a Hold rating and raises its price target for the stock to $97 per share from $83. Truist analyst Joseph Civello joins Catalysts Hosts Seana Smith and Madison Mills to outline why this C-suite change prompted the bullish shift.

Civello says investors have been waiting for the sentiment around the company to shift. “A lot of people have been expecting a turnaround to come up soon. They've been looking at the stock and think about, ‘This is an incredible brand,’ but we've seen some downside here,” which he credits to “sluggish innovation,” among other factors. This turnaround hasn't happened yet, Civello says.

The analyst says the catalyst could be incoming “with Mr. Hill taking the helm,“ explaining that he's a 'tenured industry vet. He knows the company well. He knows their partners. He knows the customers. I think he can come in and make some changes, really refresh the business, and do things that investors want to see.”

“We could see a pretty quick sentiment boost as long as they can handle some of the low-hanging fruit that I think [investors] are looking for,” he adds.

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This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.