Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Price Target Cut to $326.00

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $329.00 to $326.00 in a research note released on Sunday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BTIG Research started coverage on Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. They set a buy rating and a $425.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $385.00 to $315.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays cut their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $263.00 to $261.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $345.00 to $325.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an outperform rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lululemon Athletica presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $354.94.

Lululemon Athletica Price Performance

LULU opened at $258.08 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.26. Lululemon Athletica has a 12 month low of $226.01 and a 12 month high of $516.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $269.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $335.41.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 42.69%. Lululemon Athletica’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.68 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica will post 13.9 EPS for the current year.

Lululemon Athletica declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, June 5th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the apparel retailer to reacquire up to 2.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Lululemon Athletica

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LULU. Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 19,890.3% in the 2nd quarter. Value Star Asset Management Hong Kong Ltd now owns 4,653,746 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $1,390,074,000 after purchasing an additional 4,630,466 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,692,969 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $4,955,918,000 after purchasing an additional 2,369,119 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the 4th quarter worth about $236,378,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 359.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 204,500 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $61,084,000 after purchasing an additional 283,344 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,046,011 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $534,815,000 after acquiring an additional 257,944 shares during the last quarter. 85.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.