Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Gap Up – Still a Buy?

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) shares 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $470.00 to $490.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com upgraded Ulta Beauty from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $405.00 to $365.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $467.00 to $404.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $427.61.

Ulta Beauty Trading Up 1.8 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 1.34. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $372.90 and a 200 day moving average of $386.36.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $8.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.13 by $1.33. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The company had revenue of $3.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.08 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.96 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ulta Beauty

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC now owns 665 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $289,000 after buying an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,867 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $812,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its position in Ulta Beauty by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 626 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of Ulta Beauty by 36.9% in the fourth quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 115 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 31 shares during the period. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ulta Beauty by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 6,623 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,881,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 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.