Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Price Target Lowered to $314.00 at Morgan Stanley

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) had its price objective lowered by Morgan Stanley from $326.00 to $314.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.72% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on LULU. HSBC raised shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $405.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $420.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $354.55.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Down 3.1 %

Lululemon Athletica stock opened at $271.35 on Tuesday. Lululemon Athletica has a 12 month low of $226.01 and a 12 month high of $516.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $309.24. The firm has a market cap of $33.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.25.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, June 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to repurchase up to 2.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lululemon Athletica

In related news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $269.59, for a total transaction of $131,020.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,670,918.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.59, for a total transaction of $131,020.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,918.82. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Calvin Mcdonald purchased 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $260.00 per share, for a total transaction of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 89,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,379,720. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LULU. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 71.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 167,787 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $85,788,000 after acquiring an additional 70,056 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 61.6% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 32,955 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $16,850,000 after buying an additional 12,560 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 50.4% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 32,529 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $16,632,000 after buying an additional 10,907 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 628 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $320,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 5,942 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $3,038,000 after acquiring an additional 1,583 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

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.