Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $344.81, but opened at $377.00. Lululemon Athletica shares last traded at $402.97, with a volume of 2,634,281 shares.

The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.53 EPS.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $345.00 to $414.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $265.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $379.52.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lululemon Athletica

In other Lululemon Athletica news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.59, for a total transaction of $131,020.74. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,918.82. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LULU. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 78.2% in the second 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 acquired a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% in the third quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Dnca Finance acquired a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Up 15.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $49.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $303.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $287.81.

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.