Traders Purchase Large Volume of e.l.f. Beauty Call Options (NYSE:ELF)

Key Points

• Unusual options activity drove attention to e.l.f. Beauty, with traders buying 15,457 call options on Wednesday — about 50% above the stock’s average daily call volume.
• The stock rose to $59.44 and traded above its normal volume, while still sitting well below its 200-day moving average and far under its 12-month high of $150.99.
• e.l.f. Beauty reported better-than-expected quarterly results, beating estimates on both earnings and revenue, but analysts have recently trimmed price targets even as the consensus rating remains Moderate Buy.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 15,457 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 50% compared to the average volume of 10,317 call options.

e.l.f. Beauty Stock Performance

ELF traded up $3.77 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $59.44. 3,047,248 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,775,391. The stock has a market cap of $3.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 129.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 2.35 and a quick ratio of 1.69. e.l.f. Beauty has a 12 month low of $48.82 and a 12 month high of $150.99.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $449.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $423.06 million. e.l.f. Beauty had a net margin of 1.61% and a return on equity of 11.02%. The firm's revenue was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. e.l.f. Beauty has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.270-3.320 EPS. Analysts anticipate that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other e.l.f. Beauty news, CEO Tarang Amin sold 52,880 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.64, for a total value of $3,312,403.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 98,416 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,164,778.24. This trade represents a 34.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kory Marchisotto sold 23,796 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.66, for a total value of $1,514,853.36. Following the transaction, the insider owned 152,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,702,866.22. This represents a 13.50% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 235,649 shares of company stock worth $14,647,024. 3.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On e.l.f. Beauty

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new stake in e.l.f. Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 97.0% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 260 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 58.5% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 317 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arax Advisory Partners acquired a new stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ELF has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on e.l.f. Beauty from $85.00 to $70.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Evercore began coverage on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. They set an "inline" rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $115.00 to $87.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $85.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, e.l.f. Beauty has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.60.

e.l.f. Beauty Company Profile

e.l.f. Beauty NYSE: ELF is an American cosmetics company known for offering an extensive range of affordable, trend-driven makeup and skincare products. The company's portfolio spans foundations, lipsticks, mascaras, brushes, serums, masks and other beauty essentials, all positioned at accessible price points. e.l.f. Beauty maintains a direct-to-consumer platform through its e-commerce site and engages in widespread retail partnerships with major chains such as Target, Walmart, Ulta Beauty and Amazon.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Oakland, California, e.l.f.

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