Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Shares Down 3.5% – Here’s What Happened

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) was down 3.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $375.10 and last traded at $375.27. Approximately 949,949 shares traded 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on LULU. Needham & Company LLC raised shares of Lululemon Athletica from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $475.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Lululemon Athletica from $430.00 to $445.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Lululemon Athletica from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $360.00 to $460.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Lululemon Athletica in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $388.93.

Lululemon Athletica Trading Down 2.7 %

The firm has a market cap of $46.07 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $358.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.06.

Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The apparel retailer reported $2.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.69 by $0.18. Lululemon Athletica had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 42.16%. The business had revenue of $2.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.53 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Lululemon Athletica Inc. will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Celeste Burgoyne sold 24,870 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $405.54, for a total transaction of $10,085,779.80. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,040,456.66. The trade was a 66.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 2,022 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 6,198 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LULU. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Lululemon Athletica during the third quarter valued at $29,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lululemon Athletica by 127.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Lululemon Athletica in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 110.1% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 145 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lululemon Athletica by 402.1% during the third quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 236 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 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.