Unusual Options Activity Mon 11/25/24

The following options are exhibiting notable trading, potentially indicating changing sentiment toward the underlying stocks, and/or potentially representing positioning for increased volatility.

Bullish Call Activity

• ACHR Weekly Nov29 7 calls are seeing interest with the underlying stock up 25% (volume: 2.9K, open int: 3.0K, implied vol: ~154%, prev day implied vol: 98%). We noted activity in the Dec 6 calls earlier this month (see 11/21 13:36 OPTNX). Co is expected to report earnings mid-February.
• OPEN Weekly Nov29 2.5 calls are seeing interest with the underlying stock up 16% (volume: 6.5K, open int: 1.2K, implied vol: ~108%, prev day implied vol: 82%). We noted activity in the Weekly Dec06 2 calls last week (see 11/22 13:26 OPTNX). Co is expected to report earnings late February.
• JOBY Weekly Nov29 9 calls are seeing interest with the underlying stock up 17% (volume: 3.8K, open int: 60, implied vol: ~109%, prev day implied vol: 99%). Co is expected to report earnings mid-February.
• NKE Weekly Nov29 82 calls (volume: 12.3K, open int: 950, implied vol: ~41%, prev day implied vol: 35%). Co is confirmed to report earnings December 19 after the close.
  

Bearish Put Activity

• KSS Weekly Nov29 15 puts are seeing interest with the underlying stock up 8% ahead of earnings tomorrow before the open (volume: 17.4K, open int: 2.3K, implied vol: ~71%, prev day implied vol: 57%). 15K traded in a single transaction.
• MPW Weekly Nov29 4.5 puts are seeing interest with the underlying stock up 15% (volume: 38.0K, open int: 53.9K, implied vol: ~68%, prev day implied vol: 60%). Co is expected to report earnings late February.
  

Sentiment: The CBOE Put/Call ratio is currently: 0.85, VIX: (15.60, +0.36, +2.4%).
December 20 is options expiration -- the last day to trade December equity options.

=ServiceNow (NOW) : President and CEO John Donahoe departs to be appointed as CEO of Nike (NKE)

NIKE announces CEO succession plan; John Donahoe to be appointed as CEO, effective January 13, 2020

• At the same time, Mark Parker, CEO since 2006 and Chairman, President & CEO since 2016, will become Executive Chairman and continue to lead the Board of Directors and work closely with Mr. Donahoe and the senior management team.
• Parker took over as CEO from founder Phil Knight in 2006.
• Mr. Donahoe is the current President and CEO of ServiceNow (NOW) and also serves on its Board of Directors. Donahoe was formerly the CEO of eBay and is chairman of the board at PayPal (PYPL).
• At the end of September, Nike's head running coach, Alberto Salazar, was banned amid doping allegations, which reportedly included ties back to Parker. The New York Times reviewed emails from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that showed Parker had been briefed on Salazar's various experiments to use testosterone cream for track-and-field athletes.
• Bill McDermott stepped down from the CEO role at SAP SE SAP less than two weeks ago.

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ServiceNow appoints Bill McDermott as CEO, succeeding John Donahoe, who is stepping down to become CEO of Nike (NKE) in January; provides preliminary Q3 results and FY19 financial outlook

Mr. McDermott served as CEO of SAP (SAP) from 2014 until this month. He is joining ServiceNow following his transition from that role. To ensure a smooth transition, Mr. Donahoe will remain ServiceNow's CEO through the transition period and will retain his seat on the company's Board of Directors for the remainder of his current term, ending in June 2020.

In connection with today's announcement, ServiceNow is providing preliminary third quarter 2019 financial results, as well as updated guidance for its full year 2019 financial outlook. The guidance ServiceNow provided on its second quarter earnings call on July 24, 2019 was based on foreign currency exchange (FX) rates as of June 30, 2019. These rates subsequently experienced declines. The company's full-year guidance issued today is based on FX rates as of September 30.

• For the third quarter 2019, subscription revenues were $835 mln (GAAP), representing 35% yr/yr growth, adjusted for FX. Subscription billings for the third quarter were $864 mln, representing 29% yr/yr growth, adjusted for FX and duration.
• For full year 2019 guidance, ServiceNow is carrying forward the $9 mln in subscription revenues and $10 mln in subscription billings that, excluding the impacts of FX and duration, exceeded the company's previous mid-point guidance for the third quarter.
• For the full year 2019, ServiceNow expects subscription revenues between $3.240 bln and $3.245 bln (GAAP), representing 36-37% yr/yr growth, and subscription billings between $3.740 bln and $3.745 bln, representing 32-33% yr/yr growth, adjusted for FX.
• ServiceNow is maintaining its full year 2019 margin guidance as follows: subscription gross margins of 86%, operating margin of 21%, and free cash flow margin of 28%.

=NIKE (NKE) reported earnings on Thur 20 Dec 18 (a/h)

NIKE beats by $0.06, beats on revs

• Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.52 per share, $0.06 better than the S&P Capital IQ Consensus of $0.46; an increase of 13% percent driven by double-digit revenue growth, gross margin expansion and a lower average share count, partially offset by higher selling and administrative expenses and a higher effective tax rate.
• Revenues rose 9.6% year/year to $9.37 bln vs the $9.17 bln S&P Capital IQ Consensus. Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $8.9 billion, up 14% on a currency-neutral basis driven by accelerated growth across all geographies and in NIKE Direct, led by digital. Revenue grew in nearly every key category led by Sportswear with well-balanced double-digit growth across footwear and apparel globally.
• Revenue by region ex-FX: North American +9%, EMEA +14%, Greater China +31%, APAC/LATAM +15%
• Revenue by category ex-FX: Footwear +15%, Apparel +14%, Equipment +4%
• Gross margin increased 80 basis points to 43.8% vs. 43.5% consensus, primarily driven by higher average selling prices and margin expansion in NIKE Direct, partially offset by higher product costs. Selling and administrative expense increased 14% to $3.1 billion vs. low-teens guidance. Inventories +1%
• During the second quarter, NIKE repurchased a total of 16.1 million shares for ~$1.3 billion

Earnings this week : December 17 - 21, 2018 (wk 51)

Earnings confirmed to report next week

Monday (Dec 17) 

• Morning: None
• Afternoon: HEI ORCL RHT

Tuesday (Dec 18)

• Morning: DRI FDS NAV WOR
• Afternoon: ABM AIR FDX JBL MU SCS 

Wednesday (Dec 19)

• Morning: GIS NCS PAYX WGO
• Afternoon: MLHR PIR RAD REVG

Thursday (Dec 20)

• Morning: ACN APOG ATU BB CAG CCL CTAS NEOG  SAFM SCHL SID WBA
• Afternoon: CAMP CTAS NKE  

Friday (Dec 21)

• KMX

=NIKE (NKE) reported earnings on Thur 28 June 2018 (a/h)

NIKE beats by $0.05, beats on revs; announces new $15B buyback 

• Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.69 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.64; revenues rose 12.8% year/year to $9.79 bln vs the $9.4 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $9.3 billion, up 9 percent on a currency-neutral basis, driven by double-digit increases in NIKE Direct, international geographies, Sportswear, Global Football and growth in North America.
• Sales ex-FX: Footwear +8%, Apparel +15%; NA +3%, EMEA +10%, APac/LatAm +13%, China +25%
• Gross margin increased 60 basis points to 44.7% vs. flat to very slightly up from 44.1% last year, due primarily to higher average selling prices, margin expansion in NIKE Direct and favorable full-price sales mix.
• Inventories for NIKE, Inc. were $5.3 billion, up 4%, primarily driven by strong demand globally.
• Announces new $15B buyback when current program is completed in FY19

=Nike (NKE) reported earnings on Thur 29 June 2017 (a/h)

NIKE beats by $0.10, reports revs in-line; will guide on the call :

• Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.60 per share, $0.10 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.50, driven by global revenue growth, lower selling and administrative expense, a lower tax rate and a lower average share count which were slightly offset by lower gross margin; revenues rose 5.3% year/year to $8.68 bln vs the $8.63 bln Capital IQ Consensus. International geographies and the Direct-to-Consumer (:DTC) businesses globally led strong revenue growth
  • Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $8.1 billion, up 7 percent on a currency-neutral basis driven by double-digit growth in Western Europe, Greater China, and the Emerging Markets, and strong growth in Sportswear and Running.
  • Revenues for Converse were $554 million, up 10 percent on a currency-neutral basis, primarily driven by the market transition in Italy and growth in DTC.
  • Sales by region ex-FX: NA +1%, W. Eur +12%, C&E Eur +6%, China +16%, Japan +5%, EM +18% 
• Gross margin declined 180 bps to 44.1% vs. 44.15-44.40% guidance as higher average selling prices were more than offset by unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates and higher product costs.
• Inventories for NIKE, Inc. were $5.1 billion, up 4 percent from May 31, 2016, as a 3 percent decrease in NIKE Brand wholesale unit inventories was more than offset by increases in average product cost per unit and growth in our DTC businesses.
• NIKE, Inc. repurchased a total of 14.9 million shares for approximately $820 million as part of the four-year, $12 billion program approved by the Board. 

Footwear retailers & Amazon

 Footwear retailers drop on the whisper of Nike selling directly on Amazon.

=Nike (NKE) reported earnings on Tue 21 March 2017 (a/h)

• Nike tops 3Q profit forecasts

BEAVERTON, Ore. (AP) _ Nike Inc. (NKE) on Tuesday reported fiscal third-quarter profit of $1.14 billion.

On a per-share basis, the Beaverton, Oregon-based company said it had net income of 68 cents.

The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 52 cents per share.

The athletic apparel maker posted revenue of $8.43 billion in the period, falling short of Street forecasts. Twelve analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $8.45 billion.

Nike shares have climbed 14 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index has increased roughly 5 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $58.01, a drop of 10 percent in the last 12 months.

-====Nike (NKE) reported earnings on Tue 28 June 2016 (a/h)

NIKE beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line with gross margin below guidance; futures orders growth slows :

• Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $0.49 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 6.0% year/year to $8.24 bln vs the $8.28 bln Capital IQ Consensus. up 9% on a currency-neutral basis.
• Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $7.7 billion, up 8 percent on a currency-neutral basis driven by double-digit growth in Western Europe, Greater China, Emerging Markets and Japan, including strong growth in Sportswear, Global Football and the Jordan Brand.
• Gross margin declined 30 basis points to 45.9% ( below guidance for GM flat to up slightly Y/Y) as higher average selling prices were more than offset by higher product costs, the negative impact of clearing excess inventory in North America and unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
• Worldwide futures orders up 8%; 11% growth excluding currency changes vs. ests. near low teens.
  • Futures ex-FX by region: North America +6%, W. Eur. +11%, C&E Eur. +7%, Greater China +24%; Japan +15%; Emerging mkts +13%.
• During the fourth quarter, NIKE, Inc. repurchased a total of 9.0 million shares for ~$540 million as part of the four-year, $12 billion program approved by the Board of Directors in November 2015.
• Co will guide on the call: Previously guided for FY17 EPS growth in the low teens with high single digit revenue growth.
• Related: UA, DKS, FL, FINL, HIBB, SPWH.

=NIKE (NKE) reported earnings on Tue 22 March 2016 (a/h)

NIKE beats by $0.07, misses on revs; Futures +17% ex-FX, ~in-line:

• Reports Q3 (Feb) earnings of $0.55 per share, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.48; revenues rose 7.7% year/year to $8.03 bln vs the $8.2 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Strong consumer demand drove revenue growth across the NIKE Brand portfolio.
  • Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $7.6 billion, up 15 percent on a currency neutral basis driven by growth in every geography and nearly all key categories.
• Gross margin was 45.9% vs. 45.4% guidance, flat compared to prior year.
  • Gross margin benefited from higher average selling prices and continued growth in the higher margin Direct to Consumer (:DTC) business, which were offset by unfavorable changes in foreign currency exchange rates, higher warehousing costs, and the impact of clearing excess inventory in North America.
• During the third quarter, NIKE, Inc. repurchased a total of 24.3 million shares for ~$1.5 billion.
• Futures Orders +12%; +17% in constant currency vs. estimates in the mid to high teens ex-FX.
  • Futures as reported (ex-FX): North America +10%, W. Eur +16% (+23%), C & Eur +5% (+14%), China +28% (+36%), Japan +23% (+24%), Emerging -3% (+14%).

=NIKE (NKE) reported earnings on Tue 22 Dec 2015 (a/h)

NIKE beats by $0.04, misses on revs; futures orders +20% in costant currency, above estimates :

• Reports Q2 (Nov) earnings of $0.90 per share, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.86; revenues rose 4.1% year/year to $7.69 bln vs the $7.81 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $7.3 billion, up 13 percent on a currency neutral basis, driven by double-digit growth in every geography and most key categories.
• Revenues for Converse were $398 million, down 5 percent on a currency neutral basis, as strong growth in North America was more than offset by a decline in Europe. CHina rev +24%, NA +9%

Nike (NKE) beat earnings estimates on below-consensus revenue and its stock surged to a fresh all-time high at the open, but that was followed by daylong selling that left the Dow component lower by 2.4% when the closing bell rang.



Note on 12/24/15:

NIKE post-split reminder: Shares to begin trading post 2:1 split this morning :

• Co announced on November 19 a forward 2:1 stock split
  • Approved a two-for-one split of both NIKE's Class A and Class B Common shares. The split will be in the form of a 100% stock dividend payable on Dec 23, 2015 to shareholders of record at the close Dec 9, 2015.
• The close last night was $128.71, shares are indicated near $64.45 in premarket action

Nike (NKE) announces 14% increase in quarterly dividend and two-for-one stock split

 NIKE announces new $12 bln share repurchase program, 14% increase in quarterly dividend and two-for-one stock split.  Details below.

** charts before announcements **

 NIKE announces new $12 bln share repurchase program, 14% increase in quarterly dividend and two-for-one stock split  :

• Co approved a new four-year, $12 bln program to repurchase shares of NIKE's Class B Common Stock. The Company anticipates that the current $8 bln share repurchase program will be completed before the end of fiscal 2016, and the new program will commence upon the completion of the current program.
• Board of Directors also declared a quarterly cash dividend on the Company's outstanding Class A and Class B Common Stock of $0.32 per share, on a pre-split basis, payable on January 4, 2016 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 9, 2015. The dividend represents a 14 percent increase over the previous pre-split quarterly rate of $0.28 per share. This is the fourteenth year in a row the Company has increased its annual dividend, over which time the dividend has increased by a factor of more than 10.
• Also approved a two-for-one split of both NIKE's Class A and Class B Common shares. The split will be in the form of a 100% stock dividend payable on Dec 23, 2015 to shareholders of record at the close Dec 9, 2015.

** day after **

Is NKE a good buy now?

** 2 weeks later **

NKE didn't go anywhere

Nike (NKE) reported earnings on Thur 27 Sept 2013

NKE: Beat quarterly EPS by $0.08 ($0.86 vs $0.78 estimate), revs rose 7.7% yoy to $6.97 mln vs $6.97 mln estimate; upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Sterne Agee; target raised to $74 from $69 at TAG; target raised to $70 from $65 at Janney; downgraded to Hold from Buy at Stifel

• Nike, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) reported Q1 EPS of $0.86, versus the analyst estimate of $0.78. Revenue for the quarter came in at $7.8 billion versus the consensus estimate of $6.97 billion. 
•  As of the end of the quarter, worldwide futures orders for NIKE Brand athletic footwear and apparel scheduled for delivery from September 2013 through January 2014 were 8 percent higher than orders reported for the same period last year. Excluding currency changes, reported orders would have increased 10 percent. 
•  Revenues for the NIKE Brand were $6.5 billion, up 7 percent on a currency neutral basis. Inventories rose 6 percent to $3.5 billion. 
• Greater China sales fell 1 percent (3 percent ex-currency) to $574 million. 
• Emerging markets sales rose 1 percent (5 percent ex-currency) to $902 million. 
• Gross margin increased 120 basis points to 44.9 percent.

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Nike (NKE) reported earnings on Thur 21 March 2013

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) announced fiscal third-quarter profits of 73 cents per share, as revenue expanded 9.4% to $6.19 billion. Analysts were targeting per-share results of 67 cents on $6.23 billion in sales.

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Nike Inc is the largest athletic apparel company in the world

Q9 : What's a better buy - NKE or NTRI ?

Check your email from 4/18/11 for the analysis & answer.

Q2 : What's a better buy - COH or NKE ?

A: COH                                                                        B: NKE

 

Answer: check your email of 4/20/11.