Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Shares Gap Down After Analyst Downgrade

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after Bank of America lowered their price target on the stock from $530.00 to $430.00. The stock had previously closed at $322.98, but opened at $306.91. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the stock. Lululemon Athletica shares last traded at $302.74, with a volume of 1,035,551 shares trading hands.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $550.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $430.00 to $384.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $553.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. KeyCorp cut their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $570.00 to $515.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $492.00 to $397.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $465.48.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LULU. Beck Bode LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 26,137 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,211,000 after buying an additional 2,473 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the 1st quarter valued at $19,103,000. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 259.0% during the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 7,568 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $2,956,000 after buying an additional 5,460 shares during the period. Cim LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Cim LLC now owns 908 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,189 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $855,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $366.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $431.38. The company has a market cap of $37.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.30.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.00 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.19 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 44.41%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.40 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.15 earnings per share for the current year.

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.