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NFL Controversy Continues & the Sportswear Firm Investors Should Love

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Welcome to the latest episode of the Full-Court Finance podcast from Zacks Investment Research where Associate Stock Strategist Ben Rains jumps into the latest news out of the NFL regarding its national anthem policy and how it might impact its business partners. The episode then shifts to athleisure apparel powerhouse Lululemon (LULU - Free Report) and why the stock looks like a strong buy at the moment.

Football is almost back, and now the NFL has a yet another national anthem problem. The league had rolled out a new set of rules about what players would be allowed to do during the national anthem back in May. But, after backlash from the NFL Players Association, the league has decided to enter negotiations in order to reach some type of compromise.

The latest announcement sparked a somewhat angry response from President Donald Trump on Twitter . Now, roughly a month out from the NFL season, the league looks set to enter what will be the third year in a row in which national anthem protests and the debate hover over its season. This is something that the NFL’s TV partners—Fox (FOXA - Free Report) , CBS , ESPN ESPN, NBC (CMCSA - Free Report) and even Amazon (AMZN - Free Report) —simply don’t need as the ratings declines have led to lost revenues, advertising make-goods, and lost partnerships.

Meanwhile, the NFL has continued its push in China as it searches for new revenue streams, recently sending Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson to Shanghai to promote American football and the NFL in partnerships with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA - Free Report) .

Full-Court Finance then moves onto why investors should consider buying Lululemon stock right now. The company is coming off a strong first quarter and has seen its stock price climb over 100% in the last year on the back of strong sales and earnings growth. Lululemon has expanded its reach in the growing athleisure space to take on Nike (NKE - Free Report) , Adidas (ADDYY - Free Report) , Under Armour (UAA - Free Report) , and others. Lululemon’s sales have surpassed the likes of Banana Republic, J. Crew, and other more established brands.

Looking ahead, Lululemon hopes its full-year sales can hit $4 billion by 2020, with our current Zacks Consensus Estimates calling for the firm’s fiscal 2018 revenues to hit $3.08 billion. Furthermore, Lululemon’s strong positive earnings revision activity helps it earn its Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

As a reminder, if you feel that we missed something, or if you have any topic suggestions, shoot us an email at podcast@zacks.com. Make sure to check out all of our other audio content at zacks.com/podcasts, and remember to subscribe and leave us a rating on Apple Podcasts.

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