Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Shares Up 2.8%

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) shares rose 2.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $267.73 and last traded at $267.55. Approximately 436,191 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 2,126,667 shares. The stock had previously closed at $260.14.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LULU shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $440.00 to $355.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $385.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $470.00 to $360.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $329.00 to $326.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Sunday, September 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and twenty-one have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $354.94.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $32.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $262.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $325.05.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, June 5th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $260.00 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 89,922 shares in the company, valued at $23,379,720. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LULU. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth $1,114,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 31.8% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 15,425 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,607,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 202.8% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 9.7% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 34,709 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $10,368,000 after acquiring an additional 3,077 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,874,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.