Virtu Financial LLC Decreases Stake in Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)

Virtu Financial LLC reduced its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU - Free Report) by 52.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,955 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after selling 8,776 shares during the quarter. Virtu Financial LLC's holdings in Lululemon Athletica were worth $2,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased 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 purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the third quarter worth $29,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 116 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.20% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 12,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,040,456.66. This trade represents a 66.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.59, for a total value of $131,020.74. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,670,918.82. This represents a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LULU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $420.00 to $375.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $320.00 to $355.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Wedbush reduced their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $400.00 to $324.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $438.00 price target (up from $370.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $265.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $377.63.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of LULU stock traded up $2.30 on Friday, reaching $391.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,441,988 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,122,186. The company has a market capitalization of $48.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.23. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 12-month low of $226.01 and a 12-month high of $516.39. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $316.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.85.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.18. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.16% and a net margin of 17.05%. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.17 EPS for the current year.

Lululemon Athletica 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.