Last week, Bill Ackman's Pershing Square announced that they had accumulated 3 million Nike shares. That sounds like a lot, but it is only 0.2% of Nike's outstanding stock. As a result, Nike's shares have risen 10% over the last week.
After seeing Starbucks' share price pop on the announcement of its new CEO, the market seems to be hoping something similar could happen at the shoemaker. Nike is going through a transition, trying to address a variety of problems. Its shares are still down 20% this year, even with the recent 10% jump.
I'm not sure if Ackman owning 0.2% of Nike is going to change much at the company, but more pressure on management to implement a turnaround strategy is a good thing. Nike has a great brand and cash in the bank. There is no reason it can't start a new chapter of growth from here.