Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Rating Lowered to Neutral at Piper Sandler

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) was downgraded by investment analysts at Piper Sandler from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have a $404.00 target price on the specialty retailer’s stock, down from their prior target price of $494.00. Piper Sandler’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.20% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $350.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Ulta Beauty from $520.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $394.00 to $355.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $522.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $497.61.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of Ulta Beauty stock opened at $363.30 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a PE ratio of 14.17, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.37. Ulta Beauty has a 52-week low of $363.01 and a 52-week high of $574.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $388.27 and a 200-day moving average of $451.16.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.19 by $0.28. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 58.06% and a net margin of 11.13%. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post 25.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ulta Beauty news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 6,801 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Vima LLC bought a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 490.0% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 59 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.