Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Stock

Key Points

• Wells Fargo raised its price target on Ulta from $450 to $500 but kept an underweight rating, with the new target implying about a 19.8% downside from the prior close.
• By contrast, the Street is broadly more positive: the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a $633.12 consensus price target and multiple firms posting higher targets (e.g., Morgan Stanley $750, Telsey $715, Argus $700).
• Ulta beat quarterly expectations (EPS $5.14, revenue $2.86B, revenue up 12.9%), yet the stock traded at $623.74 (52-week range $309.01–$714.97); market cap is $27.67B and institutional investors hold about 90.4% of shares.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by Wells Fargo & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "underweight" rating on the specialty retailer's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 19.84% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $680.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $750.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $633.12.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $22.60 during trading on Monday, hitting $623.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 91,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 513,068. Ulta Beauty has a fifty-two week low of $309.01 and a fifty-two week high of $714.97. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $664.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $584.35. The company has a market capitalization of $27.67 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.82.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.61 by $0.53. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 46.33% and a net margin of 9.93%.The firm had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.14 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty's revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ULTA. Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 231.6% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,744 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,372,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 48.9% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 4,795 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,758,000 after acquiring an additional 1,574 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty in the second quarter valued at $466,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 295.6% in the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 178 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter worth about $357,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company's stock.

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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