Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Short Interest Up 21.1% in April

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,550,000 shares, a growth of 21.1% from the March 31st total of 1,280,000 shares. Approximately 3.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 826,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $580.00 to $520.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Raymond James decreased their target price on shares of Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $610.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $595.00 price target on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $656.00 to $635.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $548.05.

Insider Activity at Ulta Beauty

In related news, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total value of $1,629,325.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,420,801.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Ulta Beauty news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total value of $263,130.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $876,222.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Anita Jane Ryan sold 3,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $525.25, for a total transaction of $1,629,325.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 2,705 shares in the company, valued at $1,420,801.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ulta Beauty

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nvwm LLC lifted its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 1,043 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 72 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 4.3% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $214,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 2,828 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nkcfo LLC lifted its position in Ulta Beauty by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Nkcfo LLC now owns 183 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. 90.39% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ULTA traded down $7.07 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $402.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 498,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 764,366. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $497.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $469.61. The company has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30. Ulta Beauty has a fifty-two week low of $368.02 and a fifty-two week high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.49 by $0.59. The business had revenue of $3.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.53 billion. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 11.52% and a return on equity of 61.64%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ulta Beauty will post 26.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, March 14th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the specialty retailer to repurchase up to 7.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.