Analysts who follow Nike are expressing skepticism about its move to consolidate online sales in China.

The company said Wednesday that it will cut off most of the third-party e-commerce vendors who sell its products, consolidating sales into about a dozen of the country's top e-commerce platforms and Nike's own Chinese-language website and app.

"The decision to terminate this very important channel is a strategic misstep in our view," said Laurent Vasilescu, an analyst at BNP Paribas.

Analyst at Citigroup called it "an extreme move and a risky strategy," saying that it "opens the door for others to capture share in the market."

Shares of Nike were recently down about 2% on a day when the S&P 500 is roughly flat. The stock has fallen about 44% in the past year.