Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Stock Price Up 0.7%

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $257.70 and last traded at $257.39. 304,100 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 2,132,191 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.51.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $385.00 to $315.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $325.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. They set a "buy" rating and a $425.00 target price on the stock. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $400.00 to $324.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $354.94.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $267.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $334.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.26.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 42.69%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.68 earnings per share. Lululemon Athletica's revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 13.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, June 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding 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 generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald acquired 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was purchased 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 directly owns 89,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,379,720. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Lululemon Athletica

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 1.0% during the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 2,846 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,112,000 after buying an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 1,519 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $777,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 699 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $273,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp raised its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 0.8% in the first quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 4,896 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $1,913,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 50.7% in the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 113 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.