Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday after TD Cowen lowered their price target on the stock from $580.00 to $520.00. The stock had previously closed at $425.11, but opened at $413.83. TD Cowen currently has a buy rating on the stock. Ulta Beauty shares last traded at $415.94, with a volume of 112,565 shares changing hands.

ULTA has been the topic of several other research reports. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $583.00 to $612.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $600.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $561.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in Ulta Beauty by 364.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 65 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vima LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $511.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $467.62. The stock has a market cap of $19.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.30.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The company had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 61.64% and a net margin of 11.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.68 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 26.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. The company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, professional hair products, and salon styling tools through its Ulta Beauty stores, shop-in-shops, Ulta.com website, and its mobile applications.