Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Upgraded to “Buy” at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Needham & Company LLC currently has $475.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $320.00 to $355.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. TD Securities boosted their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $382.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $270.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $425.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lululemon Athletica currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.73.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

LULU opened at $395.47 on Friday. Lululemon Athletica has a fifty-two week low of $226.01 and a fifty-two week high of $491.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18. The company’s 50-day moving average is $355.92 and its 200 day moving average is $301.86.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.16% and a net margin of 17.05%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Lululemon Athletica news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total value of $10,085,779.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,429 shares in the company, valued at $5,040,456.66. This represents a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the insider now owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 4.6% in the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 950 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its position in Lululemon Athletica by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 2.7% in the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,115 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 11.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 598 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

About Lululemon Athletica

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.