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

Needham & Company LLC upgraded shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has $475.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock.

LULU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $360.00 to $460.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $438.00 price objective (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Friday, December 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $292.00 to $396.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lululemon Athletica presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.73.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of LULU opened at $395.47 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $355.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $301.79. Lululemon Athletica has a fifty-two week low of $226.01 and a fifty-two week high of $491.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Lululemon Athletica

In related news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total value of $782,736.42. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. This trade represents a 24.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total transaction of $10,085,779.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,040,456.66. This represents a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LULU. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Lululemon Athletica by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 950 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 66.7% during the 2nd quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $314,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,115 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 11.2% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 598 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 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.