Street View: Nike laces up for a comeback

Nike forecast a smaller-than-expected decline in Q1 revenue on Thursday and announced plans to reduce reliance on Chinese manufacturing for its U.S. market

At least 12 brokerages raise PT

** Stock up as much as 16.5% in early trade on Friday, set for best day in nearly four decades if gains hold

Shares of sportswear peers Deckers DECK.N, On Holding 49G.BN, <ONON.N>, Lululemon LULU.O, VF Corp VFC.N up ~2%

NIKE'S STILL IN THE RACE

HSBC (upgrade to "buy," PT: $80) says Nike is "a battered leader with a convincing reboot"; sees co having a path to see sales rebound and margin repair in not-too-distant future, despite tariff headwind

BMO ("Outperform," PT:$92) says Nike "still dwarfs the competition, which we continue to see as long term competitive advantage"

Barclays ("Equal Weight," PT: $64) sees early recovery signs through improving wholesale demand even as co faces near-term pressure from excess inventory, restructuring

Evercore ISI ("Outperform," PT: $90) says co is managing expectations by highlighting challenges ahead: digital traffic set to decline sharply, downbeat retro product demand and expected negative sales in China

Morgan Stanley ("Equal Weight," PT: $64) says co is stabilizing through strategic shifts, but long-term growth margin concerns linger amid weak digital sales and intensifying competition