Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Up 4.8% on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Ulta Beauty shares rose 4.8% to about $542 after DA Davidson raised its price target from $585 to $625 and maintained a buy rating.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $626.59, despite several firms recently reducing their targets.
• Ulta’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations: adjusted earnings were $6.55 per share versus $6.22 expected, while revenue rose 8.9% year over year to $3.04 billion.

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) traded up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Monday after DA Davidson raised their price target on the stock from $585.00 to $625.00. DA Davidson currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ulta Beauty traded as high as $543.32 and last traded at $542.1430. 389,739 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 44% from the average daily volume of 697,623 shares. The stock had previously closed at $517.50.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $730.00 to $700.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Ulta Beauty from $735.00 to $710.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Ulta Beauty from $700.00 to $630.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Loop Capital restated a "hold" rating and issued a $550.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, B. Riley Financial dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $626.59.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 383 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.84, for a total value of $182,246.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,404 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,143,919.36. This represents a 13.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Optimize Financial Inc increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 1,176 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 12.1% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 167 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.3% during the fourth quarter. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL now owns 394 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $238,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 555 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $336,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedbush Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,455 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,905,000 after buying an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $23.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a fifty day moving average of $497.56 and a 200-day moving average of $533.60.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.22 by $0.33. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.99 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 45.40% and a net margin of 9.34%.The business's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.78 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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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