Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $366.54, but opened at $377.00. Ulta Beauty shares last traded at $369.60, with a volume of 107,149 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ULTA shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $470.00 to $490.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $475.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $400.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ulta Beauty from $500.00 to $460.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Ulta Beauty from $467.00 to $404.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $427.61.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 2.3 %

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $371.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $386.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.74 billion, a PE ratio of 15.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.13 by $1.33. The firm had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.47 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.08 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $369.16, for a total value of $332,982.32. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,817,429.12. This represents a 10.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.39% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 121.4% during the 4th quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 62 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 118.4% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 151.5% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

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.