Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of 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 company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 826,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.4 %

ULTA stock opened at $406.39 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.30. Ulta Beauty has a 12 month low of $368.02 and a 12 month high of $574.76. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $500.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $469.42.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 14th. The specialty retailer reported $8.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.49 by $0.59. The firm 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $6.68 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ulta Beauty will post 26.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ulta Beauty declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, March 14th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the specialty retailer to buy up to 7.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ULTA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty from $600.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $535.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $480.00 to $525.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI decreased 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 note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $556.52.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, COO Kecia Steelman sold 20,950 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.39, for a total value of $11,027,870.50. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,494 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,523,936.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $526.26, for a total transaction of $263,130.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $876,222.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,552 shares of company stock valued at $12,920,326 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 248.1% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,329 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $930,000 after buying an additional 1,660 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 46.8% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 8,705 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,477,000 after buying an additional 2,775 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 23,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,543,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $215,000. Finally, Cavalier Investments LLC raised its holdings in Ulta Beauty by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cavalier Investments LLC now owns 3,838 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 140 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.