Candlestick Capital Management LP Acquires 101,510 Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Key Points

• Candlestick Capital Management LP boosted its Ulta stake by 355.0% in Q3, buying 101,510 shares to hold 130,101 shares (≈0.29% of Ulta, ~$71.13M), making Ulta its 18th-largest position.
• Ulta modestly beat Q4 revenue and EPS (revenue $3.90B; EPS $8.01) but issued a cautious FY2026 outlook with mid‑single‑digit sales guidance and flagged margin pressure from higher advertising and SG&A, triggering investor concern.
• Other large institutions (Vanguard, Sanders Capital, Invesco, Marshall Wace, Franklin Resources) also increased stakes and institutional ownership is about 90.39%, while shares plunged roughly 14.2% post-earnings amid heavy volume and analyst target cuts.

Candlestick Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) by 355.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 130,101 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 101,510 shares during the quarter. Ulta Beauty comprises 1.7% of Candlestick Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Candlestick Capital Management LP owned approximately 0.29% of Ulta Beauty worth $71,133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,353,414 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,926,979,000 after purchasing an additional 33,674 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Capital LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sanders Capital LLC now owns 1,263,820 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $690,994,000 after buying an additional 103,540 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 840,383 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $459,479,000 after buying an additional 211,485 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 9.4% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 654,598 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $306,234,000 after buying an additional 56,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 7.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 626,093 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $342,316,000 after buying an additional 43,458 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Ulta Beauty

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 top-line beat — net sales rose ~11.8% to about $3.9B, driven by comps and new stores, showing resilient demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Digital momentum and new channels: Ulta cites AI-driven personalization boosting e‑commerce and is launching a curated assortment on TikTok Shop to reach younger customers. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 outlook shows growth but slower cadence — management guided to mid-single-digit sales growth (roughly 6–7%) and provided an EPS range; the plan signals continued growth but a deceleration from FY25. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely keep positive ratings but are trimming price targets after the print — many firms reaffirm buy/overweight while lowering targets to reflect the more cautious margin/advertising outlook. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure from rising costs and higher SG&A — operating margin compressed as advertising, incentive compensation and strategic investments increased, squeezing EPS versus last year. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market disappointed by the forward profit signal — investors viewed the FY26 profit/same-store-sales targets and incremental spending as conservative or risk-increasing, triggering heavy selling and analyst target resets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: High-volume selloff and volatile sentiment — the post-earnings move has driven large intraday volume and rapid target revisions, increasing short-term downside risk despite longer-term bullish arguments. Read More.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 14.2%

Shares of ULTA opened at $535.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $23.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.82. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $665.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $587.27. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12 month low of $323.36 and a 12 month high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.08. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 44.44% and a net margin of 9.31%.The firm had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $8.46 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 target price on Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $725.00 price target (down from $775.00) on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $700.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $775.00 to $750.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $680.00 to $712.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $671.27.

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.

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