Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Break Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)’s share price crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Wednesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $514.01 and traded as high as $554.19. Ulta Beauty shares last traded at $545.48, with a volume of 321,724 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ULTA shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ulta Beauty from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $450.00 to $525.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $685.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut Ulta Beauty from a “neutral” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Twenty-four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $627.83.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $24.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $540.19 and its 200 day moving average is $514.25.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 27th. The specialty retailer reported $6.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.22 by $0.33. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.34% and a return on equity of 45.40%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.99 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.700-29.000 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 28.95 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lorna Nagler sold 600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $537.31, for a total transaction of $322,386.00. Following the sale, the director owned 7,168 shares in the company, valued at $3,851,438.08. This represents a 7.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Kecia Steelman sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $545.88, for a total transaction of $1,091,760.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,102,135.32. This trade represents a 4.71% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the second quarter valued at $1,815,712,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,024,623 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $913,064,000 after acquiring an additional 22,036 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 52,171.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,474,042 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $77,050,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,222 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 974,223 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $589,415,000 after acquiring an additional 2,463 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 598,104 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $312,635,000 after purchasing an additional 11,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.39% of the company’s stock.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

Ulta Beauty, Inc is a specialty beauty retailer that operates stores and an e-commerce platform in the United States. The company offers a broad assortment of prestige and mass-market beauty products, including cosmetics, skincare, haircare products, fragrances, bath and body items, and beauty tools.

In addition to merchandise, Ulta Beauty provides salon services such as hair styling, hair treatments, and related services at many of its locations. Its stores typically combine product retailing with salon operations and may also offer beauty services provided by licensed professionals.