Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) Receives $399.14 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $399.14.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $440.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Needham & Company LLC upgraded Lululemon Athletica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $430.00 price target (up from $400.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Monday, December 2nd.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LULU opened at $368.22 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $387.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $326.75. Lululemon Athletica has a 52-week low of $226.01 and a 52-week high of $480.94.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 42.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.53 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,040,456.66. This represents a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total transaction of $782,736.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 14,538 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,559,000 after purchasing an additional 2,752 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $274,000. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,774,000. Finally, CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. 85.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.