Piper Sandler Reaffirms Overweight Rating for Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by investment analysts at Piper Sandler in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $725.00 price target on the specialty retailer’s stock, down from their prior price target of $775.00. Piper Sandler’s price target points to a potential upside of 35.33% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Ulta Beauty in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. They set a “hold” rating and a $700.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, B. Riley Financial reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Monday, December 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $671.27.

Ulta Beauty Stock Performance

Ulta Beauty stock opened at $535.72 on Friday. Ulta Beauty has a 52 week low of $323.36 and a 52 week high of $714.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $665.60 and a 200-day moving average of $587.27.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.08. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 44.44% and a net margin of 9.31%.The business had revenue of $3.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $8.46 EPS. Ulta Beauty’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 107.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 54 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC raised its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 4,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Strengthening Families & Communities LLC now owns 43 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nalls Sherbakoff Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ulta Beauty during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. 90.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ulta Beauty News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ulta Beauty this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 top-line beat — net sales rose ~11.8% to about $3.9B, driven by comps and new stores, showing resilient demand. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Digital momentum and new channels: Ulta cites AI-driven personalization boosting e‑commerce and is launching a curated assortment on TikTok Shop to reach younger customers. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: FY2026 outlook shows growth but slower cadence — management guided to mid-single-digit sales growth (roughly 6–7%) and provided an EPS range; the plan signals continued growth but a deceleration from FY25. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts largely keep positive ratings but are trimming price targets after the print — many firms reaffirm buy/overweight while lowering targets to reflect the more cautious margin/advertising outlook. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Margin pressure from rising costs and higher SG&A — operating margin compressed as advertising, incentive compensation and strategic investments increased, squeezing EPS versus last year. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Market disappointed by the forward profit signal — investors viewed the FY26 profit/same-store-sales targets and incremental spending as conservative or risk-increasing, triggering heavy selling and analyst target resets. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: High-volume selloff and volatile sentiment — the post-earnings move has driven large intraday volume and rapid target revisions, increasing short-term downside risk despite longer-term bullish arguments. Read More.

Ulta Beauty Company Profile

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.