Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) Director Buys $272,503.00 in Stock

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) Director Martha A. M. Morfitt acquired 700 shares of Lululemon Athletica stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $389.29 per share, for a total transaction of $272,503.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $194,645. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:LULU traded up $1.19 on Thursday, hitting $390.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,690,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,670,622. Lululemon Athletica Inc. has a 1-year low of $326.93 and a 1-year high of $516.39. The stock has a market cap of $49.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $458.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $441.95.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The apparel retailer reported $5.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.00 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.19 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.11% and a return on equity of 44.41%. Lululemon Athletica’s quarterly revenue was up 15.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $4.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lululemon Athletica announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 7th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to buy up to 1.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LULU. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the first quarter worth about $2,696,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 48.4% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $602,000 after purchasing an additional 537 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 2.5% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 4,022 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $1,469,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its position in Lululemon Athletica by 6.5% during the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 1,251 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential PLC bought a new stake in Lululemon Athletica during the first quarter worth about $774,000. Institutional investors own 85.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LULU. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $495.00 to $520.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $553.00 to $515.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $560.00 to $525.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $610.00 to $546.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $539.00 price objective (down from $596.00) on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and twenty-four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lululemon Athletica currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $493.66.

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 operates in two segments, Company-Operated Stores and Direct to Consumer. The company offers pants, shorts, tops, and jackets for healthy lifestyle, such as yoga, running, training, and other activities.