Lululemon Athletica’s (LULU) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by Raymond James in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $430.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their prior target price of $400.00. Raymond James’ target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.58% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on LULU. UBS Group upped their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $425.00 to $428.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $445.00 to $380.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.73.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

LULU traded down $13.47 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $375.27. 949,949 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,526,299. Lululemon Athletica has a 1 year low of $226.01 and a 1 year high of $491.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $358.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $303.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lululemon Athletica

In related news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $2,399,307.78. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,040,456.66. This represents a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 113.5% in the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 1,687 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $645,000 after acquiring an additional 897 shares in the last quarter. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,364,000. First Pacific Financial grew its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. First Pacific Financial now owns 3,096 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,184,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the 4th quarter worth $238,000. Finally, Greenhouse Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter valued at $229,000. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.