Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Trading Up 0.7% Following Insider Buying Activity

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) shares were up 0.7% during trading on Thursday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $257.70 and last traded at $257.39. Approximately 304,100 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 2,132,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.51.

Specifically, CEO Calvin Mcdonald acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $260.00 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 89,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,379,720. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on LULU shares. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $445.00 target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. HSBC raised shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $405.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $463.00 to $286.00 in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $457.00 to $338.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Two equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $354.94.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Up 0.1 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $266.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $332.93. The firm has a market cap of $31.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.25.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 42.69%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 13.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LULU. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,237,000. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the 2nd quarter valued at about $260,000. KPP Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the 2nd quarter valued at about $517,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 8.5% during the 2nd 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 during the period. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 285.9% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 355 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the period. 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.