Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the thirty analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, nine have assigned a hold recommendation and nineteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $382.13.

LULU has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $338.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $320.00 to $355.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $380.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $360.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Lululemon Athletica stock opened at $393.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $350.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $299.99. Lululemon Athletica has a fifty-two week low of $226.01 and a fifty-two week high of $493.49.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.18. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.16% and a net margin of 17.05%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.53 EPS. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total transaction of $782,736.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total value of $10,085,779.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,040,456.66. The trade was a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lululemon Athletica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LULU. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 78.2% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 98 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 66.7% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 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.