LULU Stock Keeps Climbing on Q4 Forecast

Lululemon lifted its fourth-quarter sales and profit forecast

Lululemon Athletica Inc (NASDAQ:LULU) stock is up 2.6% before the open, after the firm lifted its fourth-quarter sales and profit forecast on the heels of a strong holiday sales report. LULU lifted its revenue forecast to a range of $1.37 billion to $1.38 billion, and its earnings to $2.22 to $2.25 per share.

On the charts, LULU has torn higher these past few months, with an early November pullback captured by its ascending 100-day moving average. More recent support at its 10-day moving average has also helped guide the stock higher, and in the past 12 months Lululemon has added roughly 80%. LULU closed Friday at $234.84, and is set to open at new record highs today.

Despite this recent price action, 10 of the 24 analysts covering the stock still consider it a "hold". What's more, the consensus 12-month price target is right in line with current levels, which could draw some equity boosting upgrades to the table. Just this morning, in fact, MKM Partners upped its price target to $264 from $258.

Options bears have taken a particular interest in LULU of late, too, as evidenced by the stock's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 0.88 on the the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), which sits higher than 80% of all other readings from the past year. While calls still outnumbered puts overall, this shows a healthier than usual appetite for long puts.