lululemon athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) Hits New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

Key Points

• lululemon athletica hit a new 52-week low, falling as low as $126.10 and ending the session down 3.7%. The drop came amid heavy trading volume of more than 3.7 million shares.
• Despite the selloff, the company’s latest quarterly results were solid: EPS of $5.01 beat estimates and revenue of $3.64 billion also topped forecasts. Analysts still expect lululemon to earn 12.3 per share for the current fiscal year.
• Several analysts have recently cut price targets, leaving the stock with a consensus Hold rating and an average target price of $203.80. Insider buying from a director and the CEO may indicate some internal confidence, even as the stock weakens.

lululemon athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $126.10 and last traded at $126.34, with a volume of 3781535 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $131.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on LULU shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of lululemon athletica in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of lululemon athletica from $210.00 to $176.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of lululemon athletica from $189.00 to $176.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of lululemon athletica from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on shares of lululemon athletica from $206.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, twenty-eight have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $203.80.

lululemon athletica Trading Down 3.7%

The stock has a market cap of $15.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 0.90. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $156.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.11.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at lululemon athletica

In other lululemon athletica news, Director Charles V. Bergh purchased 6,090 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $164.20 per share, with a total value of $999,978.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $999,978. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Andre Maestrini purchased 3,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $151.02 per share, for a total transaction of $494,590.50. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 34,551 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,217,892.02. This trade represents a 10.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On lululemon athletica

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of lululemon athletica by 66.7% in the 3rd quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 21,000 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 8,400 shares during the last quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of lululemon athletica by 44.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 65,000 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $11,565,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of lululemon athletica by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,594 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $5,319,000 after purchasing an additional 8,134 shares during the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd grew its holdings in shares of lululemon athletica by 72.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd now owns 54,318 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $9,729,000 after purchasing an additional 22,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of lululemon athletica by 105.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 123,054 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $21,895,000 after purchasing an additional 63,296 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.20% of the company's stock.

About lululemon athletica

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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