The Bank of America recently provided a much-needed update on the fiscal condition of the athletic apparel brand Nike. After facing a recent loss of market share during a reported period of subdued sales, Nike’s status has now been moved by the financial institution from ‘neutral’ to ‘buy’. Furthermore, its price target was also raised from $113 to $110. This means that Bank of America now believes that the brand’s stock is undervalued and has the potential to grow significantly over the next few financial quarters.

According to securities analyst Lorraine Hutchinson, this change is the result of several ‘key catalysts’, with the most significant one being the hype for the upcoming 2024 Paris Summer Olympic games. As Nike looks to use its Olympics-themed products as a way to drive up their revenue, one product that will play a huge role during this effort will be their latest signature concept design made under the name of the NBA’s rising rookie Victor Wembanyama.

Nike recently took over Paris’s Palais Brongniart building for a three-day convention to highlight their upcoming products ahead of the Olympic games. During one of the days, they released 13 different versions of their new and hyper-futuristic “A.I.R” (Athlete Imagined Revolution) concept. The basketball A.I.R prototypes were created as part of a collaboration with Victor Wembanyama and designed completely by A.I. The French player reportedly worked with designers to provide insights which resulted in the addition of a low-profile, responsive Air cushioning on the shoes that would reportedly extend from the forefoot and across the lateral side in order to provide stability. The shoes’ pixelated, fractal design was inspired by the bismuth stone on the necklace that Wembanyama wore on the day of the 2023 NBA draft.

The Spurs rookie was not the only athlete under whose name the latest A.I.R shoes were released. Different versions were introduced specifically for a different sport and were named after the rising stars belonging to that respective field. The track and field shoes were created under the name and recommendation of gold medallist Sha’Carri Richardson, the football cleats under Kylian Mbappé, a pair of tennis sneakers named after Qinwen Zheng etc. By making use of their new products and introducing a brand power by bringing Wembanyama and other athletes into their fold, Nike has ensured that the days of losing their market share may be behind them for now.

Can Victor Wembanyama and the Paris Olymics help drive up Nike’s declining forecast for 2025?

Prior to the recent change in their stock status and price target, Nike had released details of it’s Q3 Earnings beats. While it highlighted that the brand performed better than expected during the 3 quarter of their fiscal year, it also reportedly revealed that their revenue is set to decline during the first half of 2025.

The revelation was made by Nike before their recent stock jump. The hype generated from Wembanyama and other athletes’ A.I.R prototypes, including the various other products showcased during the Paris convention prior to the Olympics, may result in a buy frenzy that can extend all the way to early 2025. While the growth can’t be said for certain, using the Olympics -viewership of which is expected to increase from Tokyo’s 15.6 million prime-time viewers on NBC- as a catalyst can probably improve the situation for the billion-dollar company.

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“When we look back, Olympic quarters have grown about 500 basis points above a regular 1Q, because of all this effort, all this product,” said securities analyst Lorraine Hutchinson in a statement. “I think it’s a really exciting time for Nike, and I think they will try to capitalize on that moment by really bring the innovation.”