Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Shares Down 3.5% – What’s Next?

Shares of Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) were down 3.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $375.10 and last traded at $375.27. Approximately 949,949 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the average daily volume of 1,526,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $388.74.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LULU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $425.00 to $428.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $315.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $382.00 to $383.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $414.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $388.93.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Down 2.7 %

The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $358.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $303.06. The stock has a market cap of $46.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced its quarterly 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. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 42.16%. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.53 EPS. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lululemon Athletica news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total transaction of $10,085,779.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,429 shares in the company, valued at $5,040,456.66. This represents a 66.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total value of $782,736.42. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LULU. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Lululemon Athletica in the second quarter worth about $1,011,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC boosted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 23.6% during the 2nd quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC now owns 1,158 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $345,000 after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 1,394 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $416,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 38.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 737,872 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $220,423,000 after purchasing an additional 203,882 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.