Nike down as BofA turns bearish, says 'risks are rising'

** Nike's NKE.N shares down 1.3% at $35.54, an over 12-yr low, in early Fri trading after BofA Global Research downgrades sportswear giant to 'underperform' from 'neutral'

** Brokerage slashes PT from $47 to $30, implying nearly 17% downside to stock's last close

** BofA analyst Lorraine Hutchinson says in a note she sees downside risk to EPS estimates and valuation as NKE's turnaround takes longer

** Co's innovation continues to be overshadowed by a pressured classics business, while category and macro pressures build, Hutchinson says

** She now anticipates negative sales growth through FY27 vs prior view of a Spring inflection

** Revised PT of $30 based on a 16x P/E (was 22x), now aligned with peer average, she wrote

** In June, NKE flagged prolonged turnaround as persistent weakness in China and a cautious outlook eclipsed a modest fiscal Q4 revenue beat

** 13 of 44 brokerages rate the stock "strong buy" or "buy", 25 "hold", 6 "sell"; median PT $44.80, per LSEG data

** NKE stock down ~44% YTD, well underperforming ~5% drop in S&P 500 Consumer Discretionary sector .SPLRCD and 13% advance in S&P 500 .SPX