Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) in a report issued on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $345.00 to $325.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $263.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $326.00 to $314.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lululemon Athletica presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.13.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of Lululemon Athletica stock opened at $326.72 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $293.06 and a 200-day moving average of $287.86. Lululemon Athletica has a 52-week low of $226.01 and a 52-week high of $516.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.68 EPS. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Lululemon Athletica

In related news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $260.00 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 89,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,379,720. This trade represents a 4.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,918.82. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 78.2% during the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 98 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 61.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 85.20% of the stock is 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.