e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Shares Gap Up - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Shares of e.l.f. Beauty gapped up from $140.60 to $147.75, currently trading at $144.23 with a market capitalization of $8.57 billion.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for e.l.f. Beauty, with two analysts rated as Strong Buy, nine as Buy, and five as Hold, and a consensus price target of $139.53.
• Insider transactions show significant selling, with CEO Tarang Amin selling 116,315 shares, reducing his ownership by 58.71%.

Shares of e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $140.60, but opened at $147.75. e.l.f. Beauty shares last traded at $144.23, with a volume of 213,403 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded e.l.f. Beauty from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $121.00 to $128.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 2nd. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $137.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $165.00 price objective on e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, September 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, e.l.f. Beauty currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.53.

e.l.f. Beauty Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a PE ratio of 84.96, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $127.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $103.37.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.05. e.l.f. Beauty had a return on equity of 16.36% and a net margin of 7.29%.The firm had revenue of $353.74 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $348.99 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at e.l.f. Beauty

In other news, SVP Joshua Allen Franks sold 7,913 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,147,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 99,369 shares in the company, valued at $14,408,505. This trade represents a 7.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Tarang Amin sold 116,315 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.24, for a total value of $15,381,495.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 81,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,819,612.32. The trade was a 58.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 301,060 shares of company stock valued at $40,994,733. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of e.l.f. Beauty

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 97.0% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 58.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 317 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 56.5% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 676 shares of the company's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 577.7% during the first quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 759 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is 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.