BTIG Research Initiates Coverage on Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU)

Equities researchers at BTIG Research started coverage on shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) in a report issued on Wednesday, StockNewsAPI reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $425.00 price target on the apparel retailer’s stock. BTIG Research’s price target suggests a potential upside of 22.32% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on LULU. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $445.00 target price (down previously from $540.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays cut shares of Lululemon Athletica from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $546.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $575.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $570.00 to $515.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lululemon Athletica has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $474.79.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ LULU opened at $347.46 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.30. Lululemon Athletica has a 52 week low of $326.93 and a 52 week high of $516.39. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $396.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $437.09.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.00 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 44.41% and a net margin of 16.11%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Lululemon Athletica

In other news, Director Martha A. M. Morfitt purchased 700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $389.29 per share, with a total value of $272,503.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $194,645. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Lululemon Athletica

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LULU. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 18.2% in the third quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,751 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,061,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 130,827 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $50,448,000 after purchasing an additional 17,551 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Lululemon Athletica by 6.3% during the third quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 628 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $253,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC lifted its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 13.5% in the third quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 2,410 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $929,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,600,000. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.