e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Shares Down 5.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• e.l.f. Beauty's share price decreased by 5.3%, closing at $129.70 after hitting a low of $126.80 during trading.
• Analysts have mixed opinions, with Deutsche Bank downgrading their rating to "hold" but several others including UBS and Goldman Sachs increasing their price targets significantly.
• Recent insider trading shows CEO Tarang Amin sold over 116,000 shares, reducing his ownership by nearly 59%, raising concerns among investors.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report)'s share price dropped 5.3% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $126.80 and last traded at $129.70. Approximately 524,414 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 2,466,854 shares. The stock had previously closed at $136.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ELF shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of e.l.f. Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $121.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $112.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on e.l.f. Beauty from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, e.l.f. Beauty presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $142.73.

e.l.f. Beauty Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.07, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.57. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $131.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 3.26.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $353.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $348.99 million. e.l.f. Beauty had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 16.36%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at e.l.f. Beauty

In other news, CEO Tarang Amin sold 116,315 shares of e.l.f. Beauty stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.24, for a total value of $15,381,495.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,819,612.32. The trade was a 58.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Scott Milsten sold 55,581 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $7,478,979.36. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 112,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,125,351.36. This represents a 33.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 301,060 shares of company stock valued at $40,994,733. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company's stock.

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

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ELF. Aurora Investment Counsel acquired a new position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at $294,000. Caas Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 1,466.7% in the first quarter. Caas Capital Management LP now owns 4,700 shares of the company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 165.6% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 15,181 shares of the company's stock valued at $953,000 after acquiring an additional 9,466 shares during the period. Generate Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty during the first quarter valued at approximately $21,650,000. Finally, Quantitative Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,916,000. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About e.l.f. Beauty

e.l.f. Beauty, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of inclusive, accessible, clean, vegan and cruelty free cosmetics and skin care products. The company focuses on the e-commerce, national retailers and international business channels. Its brands include elf, elf skin, WELL People and KEYS soulcare.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.