LULU drew 13 price-target hikes and an upgrade to "buy"
Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) is up 15.8% to trade at $370.86, after the apparel retailer reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings of $4.40 per share and a revenue beat of $2.77 billion. The company's annual sales and profit forecast also bested Wall Street's estimates, with strong demand and less built-up inventory poised to create tailwinds.
At least 13 analysts hiked their price targets in response, including Cowen to $500 from $470. Plus, Citigroup upgraded the equity to "buy" from "neutral." Of the 24 firms in coverage, 20 already called LULU a "buy" or better coming into today, making this slew of bull notes all the more impressive.
Overall options volume is today running at 34 times the intraday average, with 41,000 calls and 31,000 puts across the tape so far. Most popular is the weekly 3/31 400-strike call, where new positions are being opened, followed by the 370-strike call in that series.
At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), LULU's 10-day call/put volume ratio of 1.29 ranks higher than 90% of readings from the last year, indicating calls have been getting picked up at a higher-than-usual clip.
Lululemon Athletica stock blasted through a long-term ceiling at the $330 level right out of the gate, which has been in place for several months, as well as resistance at the 100-day moving average. The shares are trading at their highest level since December, and added 13.2% in the last nine months.