Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $344.81, but opened at $377.00. Lululemon Athletica shares last traded at $402.97, with a volume of 2,634,281 shares.

The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.18. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LULU. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $345.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $291.00 to $292.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $360.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $382.00 to $383.00 in a report on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $379.52.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.59, for a total value of $131,020.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,918.82. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Lululemon Athletica

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LULU. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 78.2% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 98 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. Paladin Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% during the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Dnca Finance acquired a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Up 15.9 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $303.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.81. The stock has a market cap of $49.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.23.

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.