Is This the Rekindled Turnaround at Lululemon?

Lululemon Athletica Inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) reported fiscal third-quarter financial results after markets closed on Wednesday. Overall these results demonstrated continued momentum for this yoga apparel producer in 2016 and beyond. With the stock up already over 10% year to date, this number is practically doubling after this report. Also it helped that guidance was not only in-line with estimates but these numbers are now expecting new highs.

The company said that it had $0.47 in earnings per share (EPS) and $544.4 million in revenue, compared to Thomson Reuters consensus estimates that called for $0.43 in EPS and $540.23 million in revenue. The same period of last year reportedly had EPS of $0.35 and $479.69 million in revenue.

Comparable store sales increased by 4% from last year. Direct to consumer net revenue increased by 16% to $104.0 million.

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In terms of fourth-quarter guidance, the company expects to see EPS in the range of $0.96 to $1.01 and net revenues in the range of $765 million to $785 million. The consensus estimates from Thomson Reuters called for $1.01 in EPS and $787.13 million in revenue.

The board of directors has also approved a stock repurchase program for up to $100 million of its common shares.

On the books, cash and cash equivalents totaled $480.39 million at the end of the quarter, versus $501.48 million at the end of the previous fiscal year.

Laurent Potdevin, CEO, commented:

Our third quarter results demonstrated strong execution across all areas of our business as we delivered continued topline momentum, outperformed in gross margin and inflected meaningfully in EPS. This success is a result of our team’s ongoing effort and commitment to delivering on our long term strategies.

Potdevin continued:

As we entered the fourth quarter, we experienced mixed sales results that have since improved. I am inspired by the team’s response and passion towards making this another successful holiday season, and I am confident that we will continue to deliver an unparalleled guest experience across all our channels and regions around the globe.

Shares of Lululemon closed up 4.5% at $59.84 on Wednesday, with a consensus analyst price target of $66.70 and a 52-week trading range of $44.62 to $81.81. Following the release of the earnings report, the stock was initially up over 11% at $66.49 in the after-hours trading session.

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