Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich Increases Position in lululemon athletica inc. $LULU

Key Points

• Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich increased its lululemon stake by 43.8% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,394 more shares and bringing its total to 40,693 shares worth about $8.49 million.
• lululemon’s latest earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $5.01 versus the $4.78 estimate and revenue of $3.64 billion topping forecasts. However, revenue was flat year over year and earnings were below the prior-year level.
• Wall Street sentiment remains cautious: analysts have a Hold consensus on LULU, with several firms cutting price targets and a current consensus target price of $203.80.

Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its holdings in shares of lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU - Free Report) by 43.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,693 shares of the apparel retailer's stock after buying an additional 12,394 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich's holdings in lululemon athletica were worth $8,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Financial Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of lululemon athletica in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of lululemon athletica during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of lululemon athletica by 81.9% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 151 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp grew its position in lululemon athletica by 187.5% in the 3rd quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp now owns 161 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aventura Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in lululemon athletica in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.20% of the company's stock.

lululemon athletica Stock Down 0.1%

lululemon athletica stock opened at $121.06 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.61 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.90. lululemon athletica inc. has a 52 week low of $120.51 and a 52 week high of $340.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $153.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.93.

lululemon athletica (NASDAQ:LULU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 17th. The apparel retailer reported $5.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.78 by $0.23. lululemon athletica had a net margin of 14.22% and a return on equity of 34.82%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.14 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that lululemon athletica inc. will post 12.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LULU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of lululemon athletica from $189.00 to $176.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating on shares of lululemon athletica in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of lululemon athletica from $203.00 to $161.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded lululemon athletica from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on lululemon athletica from $215.00 to $175.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, twenty-eight have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $203.80.

Insider Transactions at lululemon athletica

In related news, CEO Andre Maestrini acquired 3,275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $151.02 per share, for a total transaction of $494,590.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,551 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,217,892.02. This trade represents a 10.47% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Nicole Neuburger sold 622 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.00, for a total value of $100,142.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 19,156 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,116. The trade was a 3.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

lululemon athletica Company Profile

lululemon athletica inc. is a design-focused athletic apparel company known for performance-oriented apparel, footwear and accessories. The company's product portfolio centers on technical apparel for yoga, running, training and everyday active lifestyle use and includes tops, bottoms, outerwear, underwear, bags and a growing footwear assortment. lululemon emphasizes fabric science and product innovation, marketing garments that blend performance features with lifestyle styling.

Products are developed in-house and produced through a network of third-party manufacturers.

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