Armistice Capital LLC Sells 13,609 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Armistice Capital LLC reduced its stake in Ulta Beauty by 57.1%, selling 13,609 shares in the first quarter, leaving it with 10,236 shares valued at approximately $3.75 million.
• Ulta Beauty reported a quarterly revenue of $2.79 billion and an EPS of $5.78, surpassing analysts' expectations and demonstrating a 9.3% year-over-year increase in revenue.
• Several analysts have upgraded Ulta Beauty's stock ratings, with Barclays raising the price target to $589, while JPMorgan Chase increased it to $600, reflecting growing investor confidence.

Armistice Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 57.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,236 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 13,609 shares during the quarter. Armistice Capital LLC's holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $3,752,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American National Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter worth about $29,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 218.5% in the first quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 86 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 71.4% in the first quarter. North Star Investment Management Corp. now owns 96 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the first quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 7.1%

NASDAQ ULTA opened at $492.73 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $22.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 1-year low of $309.01 and a 1-year high of $538.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $498.99 and a 200-day moving average of $427.60.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The specialty retailer reported $5.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.03 by $0.75. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 48.78% and a net margin of 10.31%.The business had revenue of $2.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.30 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Ulta Beauty from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $518.00 to $589.00 in a report on Friday, August 22nd. DA Davidson raised their price target on Ulta Beauty from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $525.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $605.00 price objective (up from $580.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $534.75.

Ulta Beauty Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. The company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its Ulta Beauty stores, shop-in-shops, Ulta.com website, and its mobile applications.

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