Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Rating Increased to Outperform at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has $460.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their prior price target of $360.00.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $338.00 to $425.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $438.00 price target (up previously from $370.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Friday, December 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $345.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $382.23.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

LULU opened at $392.92 on Tuesday. Lululemon Athletica has a 12-month low of $226.01 and a 12-month high of $491.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.85 billion, a PE ratio of 28.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $354.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $301.28.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.69 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.36 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 42.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Lululemon Athletica

In other Lululemon Athletica news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total value of $10,085,779.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,040,456.66. The trade was a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 4.6% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 950 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 78.2% in 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. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 66.7% during the second quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 115 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Capital Market Strategies LLC now owns 820 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. grew its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 2,115 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

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.