Credit Suisse Sees Lululemon Athletica's Outlook Being 'Brighter,' Raises Price Target

Christian Buss of Credit Suisse on Tuesday reiterated a Neutral rating on shares of Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ: LULU) while raising the price target to $61 from a previous $47 as the company's outlook appears to be “brighter.”

Buss notes that the company's management team recently raised its fourth quarter same-store sales guidance to 6-7 percent, up from a prior guidance in the low-single digits. The analyst states that Lululemon likely benefited from strong holiday sales coupled with an improved consumer response to new men's and women's merchandise.

Buss expects Lululemon to return to EBIT expansion in 2016, which is sooner than previously expected. The analyst models the company's operating margin expansion to materialize in 2016, up 18 basis points to 20 percent.

Bottom line, strong sales combined with a brighter outlook is a “clear positive.” However, a Neutral rating remains as the company is still challenged in its ability to recover peak productivity metrics in mature stores which may limit its ability to recapture margins.

Shares of Lululemon were recently up 2.1 percent at $63.64.