This Fund Sold $222 Million in Nike Stock — and Is Now Betting Against It

On October 21, Banque Pictet & CIE reported selling nearly 3 million shares of NIKE (NYSE:NKE)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

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.

Kristi Waterworth has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Amazon, Mastercard, Microsoft, and Nike. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.