On October 21, Banque Pictet & CIE reported selling nearly 3 million shares of NIKE (NKE 0.69%)for an estimated $221.7 million based on quarterly average prices.
What Happened
According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released on October 21, Banque Pictet sold nearly 3 million shares of Nike during the third quarter. The estimated value of the trade, calculated using the average closing price for the quarter, was about $221.7 million. The fund’s remaining stake was 305,333 shares as of September 30.
What Else to Know
This was a significant sell, reducing the stake to 0.2% of 13F AUM as of September 30 from 1.6% in the prior quarter.
Top holdings after the filing:
- NASDAQ:GOOGL: $1.5 billion (15.5% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:AMZN: $1.2 billion (11.9% of AUM)
- NYSE:MA: $506 million (5.1% of AUM)
- NYSE:MCD: $475.9 million (4.8% of AUM)
- NASDAQ:MSFT: $461.4 million (4.6% of AUM)
As of Thursday, Nike shares were priced at $64.96, down 15% over one year and well underperforming the S&P 500's 16% gain over the same period.
Company Overview
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Price (as of Thursday) | $64.96 |
| Market capitalization | $96 billion |
| Revenue (TTM) | $46.4 billion |
| Net income (TTM) | $2.9 billion |
Company Snapshot
- Nike offers athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories under the NIKE, Jordan, and Converse brands; it generates revenue primarily from product sales through retail, digital, and wholesale channels.
- The company operates a global branded consumer products model, leveraging design, marketing, and supply chain scale to drive sales through both owned and partner distribution networks.
- It designs, develops, markets, and sells men's, women's, and kids' athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessories worldwide.
Nike is a leading global designer and marketer of athletic footwear, apparel, and equipment. The company has an extensive distribution network and a broad product portfolio.
Foolish Take
Banque Pictet’s steep Nike selloff underscores a deepening loss of confidence in the sportswear giant’s near-term rebound. The Switzerland-based fund unloaded nearly 3 million shares worth an estimated $221.7 million, slashing its stake by over 90% during the third quarter. The firm also opened put positions against Nike stock, a bearish signal suggesting it expects further downside after a difficult few years for the company. Nike shares are down nearly 70% from their 2021 highs and about 15% in the past year, badly trailing the broader market.
The sale comes as Nike’s first-quarter fiscal 2026 results showed tepid 1% revenue growth and a 31% drop in net income to $700 million amid weaker digital sales and heavy discounting. CEO Elliott Hill acknowledged the company is still “managing a dynamic operating environment."
For long-term investors, Nike’s fundamentals—brand power, global scale, and margin resilience—remain intact, but some risks remain high. Meanwhile, the addition of put positions by a major institutional investor reflects skepticism that short-term recovery will come easily after a tough stretch.
Glossary
AUM: Assets under management; the total market value of investments managed by a fund or institution.
13F filing: A quarterly report required by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from institutional investment managers detailing their U.S. equity holdings.
Reportable U.S. equity assets: U.S. stocks and related securities that must be disclosed by institutional managers in regulatory filings.
Stake: The amount or percentage of ownership an investor or fund holds in a company.
Quarter-end: The last day of a fiscal quarter, used as a reference point for financial reporting.
Distribution network: The system of channels through which a company sells and delivers its products to customers.
Wholesale channels: Sales outlets where products are sold in large quantities to retailers or distributors, rather than directly to consumers.
TTM: Trailing twelve months; the 12-month period ending with the most recent quarterly report.
