Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Stock Price Up 0.9%

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)’s stock price traded up 0.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $258.45 and last traded at $257.44. 305,452 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,127,668 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.20.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LULU. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $345.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $470.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $400.00 to $324.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $354.94.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $32.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.65, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $263.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $327.92.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Lululemon Athletica announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to purchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Lululemon Athletica

In other news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald acquired 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $260.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 89,922 shares in the company, valued at $23,379,720. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,237,000. Brown Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the second quarter worth about $260,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the second quarter valued at approximately $517,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 8.5% in the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 24,492 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $7,315,000 after purchasing an additional 1,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 285.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 355 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Company Profile

Lululemon Athletica Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, distributes, and retails athletic apparel, footwear, and accessories under the lululemon brand for women and men. It offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities. It also provides fitness-inspired accessories.