Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Stock

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) had its target price lifted by Morgan Stanley from $314.00 to $345.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the apparel retailer’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on the company. Wedbush decreased their price target on Lululemon Athletica from $400.00 to $324.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $385.00 to $315.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $415.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $300.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $420.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $358.13.

Lululemon Athletica Stock Performance

Shares of LULU stock opened at $318.84 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $294.07 and a 200-day moving average of $287.62. Lululemon Athletica has a 52-week low of $226.01 and a 52-week high of $516.39. The stock has a market cap of $39.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.24.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The apparel retailer reported $3.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.93 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.40 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 16.34% and a return on equity of 42.59%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.68 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lululemon Athletica will post 14.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Calvin Mcdonald bought 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $260.00 per share, with a total value of $1,040,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 89,922 shares in the company, valued at $23,379,720. The trade was a 4.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 486 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,670,918.82. This represents a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lululemon Athletica

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 78.2% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 98 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 61.5% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 105 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% in the 3rd quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 116 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in Lululemon Athletica during the second quarter worth about $33,000. 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.