Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA)

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) was the target of unusually large options trading on Monday. Traders purchased 15,167 call options on the company. This is an increase of 30% compared to the typical volume of 11,711 call options.

Ulta Beauty Trading Down 0.0 %

ULTA opened at $377.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a PE ratio of 14.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $375.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $433.91. Ulta Beauty has a 1-year low of $318.17 and a 1-year high of $574.76.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The specialty retailer reported $6.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.19 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $2.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Ulta Beauty had a return on equity of 58.06% and a net margin of 11.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.88 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ulta Beauty will post 25.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ULTA. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $630.00 to $500.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $475.00 to $412.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $575.00 to $425.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Citigroup reduced their price target on Ulta Beauty from $485.00 to $400.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Ulta Beauty from $530.00 to $544.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $494.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total transaction of $39,008.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $786,791.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jodi J. Caro sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $388.68, for a total transaction of $252,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,643,412.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Catherine Ann Halligan sold 100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.08, for a total value of $39,008.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $786,791.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.39% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ULTA. Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in Ulta Beauty by 80.9% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 681 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $1,470,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 10,458 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,124,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ulta Beauty by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 6,142 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,010,000 after purchasing an additional 760 shares during the period. Finally, Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Ulta Beauty in the fourth quarter worth $223,000. 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.