Barclays Has Lowered Expectations for Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock Price

Key Points

• Barclays lowered its price target on Ulta Beauty from $712 to $647 while keeping an overweight rating, implying about 36% upside from the current share price.
• Ulta beat fiscal Q1 expectations with EPS of $7.74 on revenue of $3.16 billion, and sales rose 11.1% year over year.
• The company raised its FY2026 outlook, guiding for EPS of $28.36-$28.80 and revenue of $13.1 billion-$13.3 billion, even as the stock traded down about 4% in Wednesday’s session.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Barclays from $712.00 to $647.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Barclays's price target suggests a potential upside of 36.12% from the company's current price.

ULTA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $750.00 to $650.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 13th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $715.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $652.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ulta Beauty currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $679.05.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 4.0%

Shares of ULTA opened at $475.32 on Wednesday. Ulta Beauty has a 12-month low of $452.00 and a 12-month high of $714.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $525.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $585.92.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.85. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.70 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.360-28.800 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post 28.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ulta Beauty

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total value of $243,759.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,285,128.07. This trade represents a 15.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.39% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ULTA. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 860.0% during the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 48 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4,200.0% during the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 43 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Ascentis Independent Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

More Ulta Beauty News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Ulta delivered a big Q1 earnings beat, posting $7.74 EPS versus expectations and $3.16 billion in revenue, while sales rose 11.1% year over year. Ulta Beauty Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results and Updates Fiscal 2026 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised fiscal 2026 guidance, including EPS of $28.36-$28.80 and revenue of $13.1 billion-$13.3 billion, signaling management sees momentum continuing. Ulta Beauty raises annual profit forecast on higher-priced product demand
• Positive Sentiment: Comparable sales grew 5.3%, helped by broad-based demand across channels and categories, which suggests Ulta is still gaining share despite a cautious consumer backdrop. Ulta shares pop as beauty retailer beats Wall Street expectations and hikes earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management also highlighted stronger margins, lower inventory-related losses, and a larger buyback target, all of which support earnings quality and capital returns. ULTA Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Share Gains, Discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Ulta also announced plans for a new Times Square flagship store, a long-term brand visibility move that is not likely to affect near-term results much. Ulta Beauty’s Heading to Times Square

About Ulta Beauty

Ulta Beauty, Inc NASDAQ: ULTA is a U.S.-based specialty retailer and beauty services provider focused on cosmetics, fragrance, skin care, hair care, bath and body, and beauty tools. The company operates a dual-format business that combines brick-and-mortar retail stores with an e-commerce platform, offering a broad assortment of national, prestige and mass-market brands alongside its own private-label products. In many locations Ulta also provides full-service salon treatments, positioning the company as a one-stop destination for product discovery and in-store services.

The retailer's product mix spans color cosmetics, haircare and styling products, skin and body care, fragrance, and accessories, catering to a wide range of consumer preferences and price points.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.