Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Shares Gap Up to $240.49

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $240.49, but opened at $254.16. Lululemon Athletica shares last traded at $253.90, with a volume of 408,666 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LULU shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $420.00 to $384.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 6th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $515.00 to $437.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $475.00 to $385.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $338.00 to $263.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, BTIG Research started coverage on Lululemon Athletica in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $404.26.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Up 6.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.29, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $283.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $355.99.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $2.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.20 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.64% and a net margin of 16.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.22 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LULU. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,114,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 202.8% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 1,714 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $670,000 after acquiring an additional 1,148 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Lululemon Athletica by 9.7% in the second quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 34,709 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,368,000 after purchasing an additional 3,077 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its position in Lululemon Athletica by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,622 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,874,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,261 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $3,250,000 after buying an additional 321 shares during the period. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.