Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU – Get Rating) gapped down prior to trading on Friday after The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded the stock from a conviction-buy rating to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $374.51, but opened at $349.46. Lululemon Athletica shares last traded at $339.60, with a volume of 40,008 shares changing hands.
Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on LULU. UBS Group lowered their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $395.00 to $390.00 in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $464.00 to $413.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 25th. Barclays raised their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $435.00 to $446.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 6th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $430.00 to $435.00 in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lululemon Athletica presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $413.12.
Insider Activity
In other news, Director Kathryn Henry sold 189 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $351.80, for a total transaction of $66,490.20. Following the sale, the director now owns 4,102 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,443,083.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LULU. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 440.9% during the second quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 119 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Venture Visionary Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Core Alternative Capital increased its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 95.5% during the second quarter. Core Alternative Capital now owns 129 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.11% of the company’s stock.
Lululemon Athletica Stock Down 10.8 %
The firm has a market cap of $42.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $331.44 and its 200 day moving average is $312.52.
Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 8th. The apparel retailer reported $2.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.96 by $0.04. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 15.60% and a return on equity of 40.95%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Lululemon Athletica Company Profile
Lululemon athletica Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, distributes, and retails athletic apparel and accessories for women and men. It operates in two segments, Company-Operated Stores and Direct to Consumer. The company offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle and athletic activities, such as yoga, running, and training, as well as other sweaty pursuits.