e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Wall Street rates e.l.f. Beauty a “Moderate Buy”: Ten of 18 analysts recommend buying the stock, with an average 12-month price target of $99, below its reported opening price of $103.83.
• Recent results exceeded expectations: Quarterly EPS came in at $1.75 versus the $0.71 consensus, while revenue rose 35.5% year over year to $479.37 million, surpassing estimates.
• Growth opportunities are balanced by insider selling: The company is expanding into fragrance and body care through e.l.f. POP, while insiders—including the CEO—have sold shares recently; institutional investors own 92.44% of the stock.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $99.00.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. B. Riley Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on e.l.f. Beauty from $50.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup upped their target price on e.l.f. Beauty from $100.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $100.00 target price on e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on e.l.f. Beauty from $72.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th.

e.l.f. Beauty News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting e.l.f. Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expansion into fragrance and body care: e.l.f. Beauty is launching e.l.f. POP, a new fragrance and body-care platform. Its first release, the limited-edition holiday “Spicy Bundt Nice” collection, is inspired by Tromsø, Norway. The move broadens e.l.f.’s addressable market beyond cosmetics and skincare and could create new sources of growth, although the financial contribution is not yet known. e.l.f. POP fragrance and body-care launch
• Positive Sentiment: Potential earnings beat: Zacks says e.l.f. has a strong history of exceeding earnings expectations and currently possesses factors that could support another beat in its next quarterly report. This is an analyst-based forecast rather than a reported result, but it may reinforce optimism following the company’s recent revenue and earnings outperformance. Zacks earnings estimate article
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing investment: e.l.f. released “Mirror Mix,” an original album, as part of a broader effort to increase marketing engagement. The campaign could strengthen brand awareness and customer connection, but it also represents additional spending with no immediate evidence of a material financial impact. CNBC article on e.l.f.’s music marketing
• Negative Sentiment: CEO insider selling: CEO Tarang Amin sold 47,000 ELF shares for approximately $4.86 million at an average price of $103.31, reducing his holdings by 25.9%. Insider sales are not necessarily a negative signal because they may reflect personal financial planning, but the transaction can weigh on sentiment by raising questions about management’s near-term confidence.

e.l.f. Beauty Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ELF opened at $103.83 on Tuesday. e.l.f. Beauty has a fifty-two week low of $48.82 and a fifty-two week high of $147.75. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.82, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market cap of $6.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 103.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.61.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $479.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.20 million. e.l.f. Beauty had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. e.l.f. Beauty has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.500-3.550 EPS. Equities analysts expect that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Mandy J. Fields sold 16,065 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.52, for a total transaction of $1,679,113.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 90,896 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,500,449.92. This trade represents a 15.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kory Marchisotto sold 12,173 shares of e.l.f. Beauty stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.02, for a total value of $1,071,467.46. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 169,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,936,553.90. The trade was a 6.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 87,702 shares of company stock valued at $8,902,588. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On e.l.f. Beauty

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ELF. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth about $428,262,000. Primecap Management Co. CA purchased a new position in e.l.f. Beauty during the 2nd quarter valued at about $78,202,000. Prime Capital Management Co Ltd acquired a new position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty in the 2nd quarter valued at about $44,736,000. Armistice Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 394.9% in the 4th quarter. Armistice Capital LLC now owns 657,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,033,000 after purchasing an additional 525,018 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,895,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company's stock.

e.l.f. Beauty Company Profile

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc is a cosmetics and skin-care company that develops, markets and sells beauty products through mass retailers, specialty beauty stores, e-commerce platforms and its own websites. Its portfolio includes makeup, skin-care, body-care and related beauty products designed to offer accessible pricing and broad consumer appeal.

The company's principal brand is e.l.f. Cosmetics, which offers products such as complexion makeup, eye cosmetics, lip products, brushes and skin-care items.

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