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Lululemon Athletica Inc.’s ongoing evolution — its push into men’s wear, work wear, underwear and self-care — along with investments in e-commerce, product innovation and global expansion, led to one of its “strongest years ever,” the Vancouver-based retailer said Wednesday.

Shares in the yoga-wear specialists soared 20 per cent to a record high in early trade Thursday and several Wall Street analysts raised their price targets for the company after the blockbuster fourth quarter.

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The company said net revenue for the fourth quarter, aided by strong holiday sales, hit US$1.2 billion, a 26-per-cent increase compared to the previous year.

Total revenue for fiscal 2018 was US$3.3 billion — not far off its goal of US$4 billion in revenue by 2020.

The company achieved three other goals for 2020 in 2018, including reaching an e-commerce penetration rate of 26 per cent.

Lululemon also announced that it is opening e-commerce markets in France, Japan and Germany and plans to roll out its “order online, pick up in store” program across the U.S. by the winter holidays this year.