Robert W. Baird Cuts Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Price Target to $700.00

Key Points

• Robert W. Baird cut Ulta Beauty’s price target from $730 to $700 but kept an outperform rating, implying roughly 47% upside from the prior close.
• Ulta recently reported a strong quarter, with $7.74 EPS versus $6.89 expected and $3.16 billion in revenue, while sales rose 11.1% year over year.
• The company also raised its fiscal 2026 guidance, projecting EPS of $28.36-$28.80 and revenue of $13.1 billion-$13.3 billion, signaling continued momentum.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $730.00 to $700.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Robert W. Baird's price objective indicates a potential upside of 47.27% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $674.00 to $799.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, March 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $685.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 5th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $635.00 to $700.00 in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $679.05.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

ULTA stock opened at $475.32 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $525.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $585.92. The company has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.86. Ulta Beauty has a 52-week low of $452.00 and a 52-week high of $714.97.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 2nd. The specialty retailer reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $0.85. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 43.56% and a net margin of 9.31%.The firm had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.70 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.360-28.800 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 28.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director George R. Mrkonic, Jr. sold 452 shares of Ulta Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $539.29, for a total transaction of $243,759.08. Following the sale, the director directly owned 2,383 shares in the company, valued at $1,285,128.07. The trade was a 15.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter valued at about $243,000. Allen Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Allen Capital Group LLC now owns 7,545 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,944,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth $3,925,000. Wellington Grp LLC increased its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 42.9% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Grp LLC now owns 1,016 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $531,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 10.8% in the first quarter. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. now owns 1,308 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company's stock.

Key Ulta Beauty News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Ulta delivered a big Q1 earnings beat, posting $7.74 EPS versus expectations and $3.16 billion in revenue, while sales rose 11.1% year over year. Ulta Beauty Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results and Updates Fiscal 2026 Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: The company raised fiscal 2026 guidance, including EPS of $28.36-$28.80 and revenue of $13.1 billion-$13.3 billion, signaling management sees momentum continuing. Ulta Beauty raises annual profit forecast on higher-priced product demand
• Positive Sentiment: Comparable sales grew 5.3%, helped by broad-based demand across channels and categories, which suggests Ulta is still gaining share despite a cautious consumer backdrop. Ulta shares pop as beauty retailer beats Wall Street expectations and hikes earnings outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Management also highlighted stronger margins, lower inventory-related losses, and a larger buyback target, all of which support earnings quality and capital returns. ULTA Q1 Earnings Call Highlights Share Gains, Discipline
• Neutral Sentiment: Ulta also announced plans for a new Times Square flagship store, a long-term brand visibility move that is not likely to affect near-term results much. Ulta Beauty’s Heading to Times Square

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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