LULU gapped higher by 14% in the wake of March's earnings report
Athleisure icon Lululemon Athletica inc. (NASDAQ:LULU) has cooled off some since racing to a record high of $179.50 on April 25. But the lull could be over soon, with the company's first-quarter earnings report slated for release after the market closes tomorrow, June 12. Below, we will take a closer look at how LULU has been performing on the charts, as well as what the options market has priced in for the stock's post-earnings moves.
Digging into Lululemon's earnings history, the stock has only closed higher the day after earnings in an impressive seven of the last eight quarters -- including a 16.3% surge this time last year, as well as a 14.1% gain in March. Over the past two years, the shares have swung an average of 11.4% the day after earnings, regardless of direction. This time around, the options market is pricing in a larger-than-usual 15.7% swing for Thursday's trading.
At last check, Lululemon stock is down 0.2% at $171.47. LULU's respectable 40% year-over-year gain can be attributed to those post-earnings bull gaps alluded to above. More recently, pullbacks have found support at the shares' 80-day moving average, a trendline not breached on a closing basis since mid-January.
Looking in the options pits, calls have been popular among short-term traders. This is per LULU's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 0.66, which is ranked in the 2nd annual percentile. The June 180 call, specifically, is home to peak open interest, and data from the major options exchanges confirms buy-to-open activity here.