The apparel company will step into the earnings confessional on March 27
Apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) is slated to report fourth-quarter earnings after the market closes on Thursday, March 27. Over the last two years, LULU has moved higher following all but one of its last eight earnings reports, including a 16% post-earnings pop in December. The stock has averaged a next-day swing of 9%, regardless of direction, though this time around, the options pits are pricing in a slightly larger move of 13.9%.
Shares were last seen 3.7% higher at $334.57, though the 140-day moving average could be keeping gains in check. After a strong start to the year — peaking at $423.32 on Jan. 30 — Lululemon stock has been trending lower. The equity is down 12.9% over the last three months and carries a 12.7% year-to-date deficit.
Bullish options activity is heating up ahead of the event, with 5,711 calls exchanged — double the average intraday volume. New positions are opening at the five most active contracts, led by the weekly 3/28 300-strike put.
Short interest, meanwhile, jumped 42% in the two most recent reporting periods. The 6.76 million shares sold short now account for 6.1% of LULU's total available float, and it would take more than four days to cover these bearish bets at the stock’s average pace of trading.