Raymond James Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Stock

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial has increased its price target for e.l.f. Beauty's stock from $155.00 to $165.00, suggesting a potential upside of 28.49% from the last closing price.
• e.l.f. Beauty's stock recently experienced a decline of 6.2%, trading at $128.42, despite reports of strong earnings and a positive forecast from multiple analysts.
• Insider trading activity showed significant sales, with one insider selling over 55,000 shares, highlighting potential shifts in ownership among key stakeholders.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by Raymond James Financial from $155.00 to $165.00 in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "strong-buy" rating on the stock. Raymond James Financial's target price would suggest a potential upside of 28.49% from the stock's previous close.

ELF has been the topic of several other research reports. Piper Sandler began coverage on e.l.f. Beauty in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $150.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $112.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $135.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $165.00 price objective on e.l.f. Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, September 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, e.l.f. Beauty has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.73.

e.l.f. Beauty Stock Down 6.2%

Shares of NYSE:ELF traded down $8.51 during trading on Monday, hitting $128.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,792,294 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,474,254. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 3.26. e.l.f. Beauty has a fifty-two week low of $49.40 and a fifty-two week high of $150.99. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $131.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $107.71. The company has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 75.75, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.57.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.89 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 business had revenue of $353.74 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $348.99 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at e.l.f. Beauty

In other news, insider Scott Milsten sold 55,581 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.56, for a total transaction of $7,478,979.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 112,406 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,125,351.36. This represents a 33.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kory Marchisotto sold 13,515 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.10, for a total value of $1,893,451.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 144,788 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,284,798.80. This trade represents a 8.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 301,060 shares of company stock valued at $40,994,733. 3.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On e.l.f. Beauty

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Champlain Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 19.7% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,665,026 shares of the company's stock valued at $167,337,000 after purchasing an additional 438,575 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB grew its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 42.6% in the 1st quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,157,760 shares of the company's stock worth $72,696,000 after buying an additional 345,760 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 957,941 shares of the company's stock worth $119,206,000 after buying an additional 95,270 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 951,309 shares of the company's stock worth $118,381,000 after buying an additional 12,339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in e.l.f. Beauty in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $118,058,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.