Nike Inc.’s stock is close to recovering from the Colin Kaepernick-induced selloff.

The company saw US$4.16 billion cleaved from its market capitalization following the release of a new ad campaign featuring the controversial quarterback-turned-activist. The sportswear company’s shares briefly regained the full loss in early trading on Monday when the stock price gained as much as 2.67 per cent as of 11:00 in New York. Wedbush Securities raised its price target for the stock from US$85 to US$90 on Monday.

The brief drop in the company’s stock price is buoyed by the free publicity the campaign has generated for Nike. As of Sept. 6, Apex Marketing Group reported the buzz was worth more than US$163 million.