Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Rating Increased to Buy at Needham & Company LLC

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) was upgraded by investment analysts at Needham & Company LLC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $475.00 price objective on the apparel retailer’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.89% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $425.00 to $428.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $270.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $382.00 to $383.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $381.40.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Down 0.1 %

Lululemon Athletica stock opened at $392.92 on Friday. Lululemon Athletica has a 12-month low of $226.01 and a 12-month high of $491.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $354.43 and a 200 day moving average of $301.28.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.18. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 42.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.17 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lululemon Athletica

In related news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total value of $10,085,779.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,429 shares in the company, valued at $5,040,456.66. The trade was a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total transaction of $782,736.42. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,198 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LULU. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the second quarter worth approximately $1,011,000. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 145.5% in the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,679 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $502,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 627.8% during the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 8,050 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,405,000 after purchasing an additional 6,944 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 66.7% in the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during 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.