Nike stock going to $102? 1 Wall Street analyst thinks so.

NIKE (NKE 0.40%) is a stock for players who want to win convincingly in the market. At least that’s the view of one analyst who follows the apparel and sportswear giant. He recently reiterated his bullish outlook on Nike’s prospects, suggesting the stock price could accelerate 31% soon.

Ignore the crisis in China

Nike’s bull is Paul Jejuez of the ever-influential Big Four bench City Group. It issued a new note on Nike in which it maintained both its buy recommendation and its price target of $102 per share.

Jejuez was forced to issue an update following developments with a key Nike business partner in China: wholesaler and retailer Topsports. That company warned investors that its operating profit for the six months ending Aug. 31 was likely to fall by about 35 percent year-on-year. This is due to declining consumer demand in the country, which has seen relatively weak economic growth over the past few years.

While this is certainly a concern for Nike, Jejuez doesn’t think the impact will be substantial. He wrote in the latest research update that “it’s worth noting that Nike’s current guidance for fiscal 2024 already implies a large reduction in sales in China.”

A change of strategy

It says something about Nike’s operations that even a sudden, sudden drop in a major international market shouldn’t hurt its business too badly. What was more of a drag on the company and its stock were its attempts to effectively go it alone in retail, launching a massive direct-to-consumer (DTC) initiative that never took off.

However, to its credit, management realized it wasn’t the wisest approach and retreated to its more traditional model, restoring relationships with the big retailers of old.

Nike, in my opinion, is still being punished for this move and subsequent withdrawal. Meanwhile, health and fitness continue to be priorities for many consumers around the world, and Nike is a master at branding and keeping its products relevant. I feel like it’s kind of an under-the-radar stock these days and therefore worth considering as a buy.