Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) Shares Pass Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Shares of Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $381.74 and traded as high as $441.00. Ulta Beauty shares last traded at $434.93, with a volume of 475,024 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ulta Beauty from $390.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $435.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $450.00 to $480.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $357.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ulta Beauty from $385.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ulta Beauty has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $439.30.

Ulta Beauty Price Performance

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $395.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $382.11. The stock has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.32.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 5th. The specialty retailer reported $5.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.45 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $2.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 10.58%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.07 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty, Inc. will post 23.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth $32,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in Ulta Beauty by 118.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 151.5% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 83 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty during the third quarter worth about $44,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ulta Beauty

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.