UPDATE: KeyBanc Capital Markets Downgrades Lululemon Athletica to Hold on Valuation and High-End Retail Challenges

KeyBanc Capital Markets lowers its rating on Lululemon Athletica

from Buy to Hold and suspends its previous $84 price target on shares. KeyBanc Capital Markets says, "While we believe that lululemon athletica inc. (LULU-NASDAQ) has one of the strongest growth prospects in our coverage universe, our more cautious view on the U.S. high-end consumer, coupled with relative valuation cause us to move to the sidelines. Since our upgrade from UNDERWEIGHT to BUY on December 2, 2011, the stock has risen 54% vs. 6% for the S&P 500 (SPX) and 14% for the S&P Retail Index (RLX), as of May 23, 2012. Our long-term, positive thesis on LULU remains unchanged. LULU closed at $72.67 on Thursday.