Having come so far, so fast since the markets crashed in mid-March, lululemon athletica's (LULU 1.43%) performance may not have any more room to run, according to one analyst.
Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow downgraded Lululemon's stock to equal weight from overweight because shares soared 125% after falling below $129 a share two months ago. Because there is "plenty of risk in the consumer environment still ahead," Boruchow thinks there will be better opportunities to buy the stock in the future, although he raised his price target to $275 per share from $250.
Image source: Getty Images.
Divergence of opinion
That's a different outlook than others on Wall Street have. Just last Friday, an analyst at Raymond James raised his price target to $335, some 12% above where it was trading at the time, because Lululemon's "innovation machine" gives it a market dominance that only pushes it higher.
Boruchow doesn't necessarily disagree with his compatriot's assessment of the business, pointing to Lululemon as a "high-quality best-in-class brand," but the risk-reward profile of the stock is skewing heavily toward risk and away from reward at these prices.
The athleisure brand's stock is pricey, trading at 62 times trailing earnings and 51 times next year's estimates. It also goes for more than 98 times the free cash flow it produces, suggesting the lofty level is due for a pullback considering the uncertainty still remaining in the retail sector and the marketplace.
