Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 6,760,000 shares, an increase of 19.2% from the February 13th total of 5,670,000 shares. Currently, 6.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,840,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lululemon Athletica from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Lululemon Athletica from $440.00 to $495.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $380.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $292.00 to $396.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $398.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.11, for a total transaction of $782,736.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,198 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,399,307.78. The trade was a 24.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.48% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Investment Partners Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter valued at $275,000. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Lululemon Athletica by 50.5% during the third quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 103,424 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $28,070,000 after buying an additional 34,704 shares in the last quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lululemon Athletica by 138.1% in the 4th quarter. Lebenthal Global Advisors LLC now owns 2,698 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,032,000 after acquiring an additional 1,565 shares in the last quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 495.1% in the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 4,255 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,627,000 after acquiring an additional 3,540 shares during the period. Finally, Northeast Investment Management bought a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 4th quarter worth approximately $276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:LULU traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $329.35. 229,732 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,155,691. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $372.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $336.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.21. Lululemon Athletica has a 12 month low of $226.01 and a 12 month high of $480.94.

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.