Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $697.26 and last traded at $696.9850, with a volume of 47598 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $690.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ULTA has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $640.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ulta Beauty from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Ulta Beauty from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $605.00 to $790.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Argus increased their price target on Ulta Beauty from $650.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $626.44.

Ulta Beauty Stock Up 1.2%

The stock has a market cap of $30.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.85. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $627.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $561.11.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 4th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.61 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $2.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 46.33% and a net margin of 9.93%.The company’s revenue was up 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.14 EPS. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2025 guidance at 25.200-25.500 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 107.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC boosted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 43 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Ulta Beauty during the third quarter valued at $31,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ulta Beauty

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.