Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. 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 traded.

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 return on equity of 42.59% and a net margin of 16.34%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.53 earnings per share.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $260.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $525.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lululemon Athletica has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.26.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $269.59, for a total value 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 105.6% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 255 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 40.6% during the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,250 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $373,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 28.3% during the second quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 5,297 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,582,000 after buying an additional 1,167 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 21.4% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,896 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $865,000 after buying an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Csenge Advisory Group grew its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 45.8% during the second quarter. Csenge Advisory Group now owns 1,338 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $400,000 after buying an additional 420 shares in the last quarter. 85.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Up 16.9 %

The stock has a market cap of $49.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $303.40 and a 200-day moving average 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.