Needham & Company LLC Begins Coverage on Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU)

Equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC started coverage on shares of Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a “hold” rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

LULU has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $440.00 to $355.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $285.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $457.00 to $338.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $291.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.13.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:LULU opened at $317.11 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $291.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $288.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.24. Lululemon Athletica has a 12-month low of $226.01 and a 12-month high of $516.39.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. Lululemon Athletica had a return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. Lululemon Athletica’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Lululemon Athletica

In related news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.59, for a total transaction of $131,020.74. Following the sale, the insider now owns 6,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,670,918.82. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Calvin Mcdonald bought 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $260.00 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 89,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,379,720. This trade represents a 4.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Shepherd Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $953,000. XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 281.4% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 8,894 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 6,562 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 15,425 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $4,607,000 after acquiring an additional 3,721 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 34,709 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $10,368,000 after acquiring an additional 3,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rheos Capital Works Inc. boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Rheos Capital Works Inc. now owns 15,500 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,206,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

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.