Tang Capital Management LLC Invests $1.17 Million in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Tang Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,699 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,174,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,199,935 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $520,587,000 after buying an additional 11,205 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth $430,674,000. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 655,561 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $285,123,000 after acquiring an additional 9,291 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Ulta Beauty by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 562,155 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $244,498,000 after acquiring an additional 72,004 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at about $239,432,000. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $460.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $384.00 to $423.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Citigroup raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "positive" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $445.00 to $327.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $538.00 to $526.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $424.00.

Ulta Beauty Stock Down 2.3%

NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $9.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $404.75. The company had a trading volume of 751,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,052,363. The company has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.06. Ulta Beauty, Inc. has a 52-week low of $309.01 and a 52-week high of $460.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $374.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $386.06.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.13 by $1.33. The business had revenue of $3.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.47 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The firm's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.08 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In other news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. The trade was a 10.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.