Ulta soars as Q3 beat sparks flood of price target hikes

Ulta’s latest makeover is happening on Wall Street. Shares leapt Friday morning as analysts hiked their price targets after the beauty retailer topped Q3 estimates and raised its full-year outlook after the bell Thursday.

Earnings came in at $5.14 per share, handily beating analyst expectations of $4.64. Revenue also topped estimates at $2.86 billion, compared with the $2.72 billion expected. Ulta has benefited from resilient beauty spending, even as consumers pull back elsewhere and hunt more aggressively for discounts.

Ulta now expects full-year net sales of about $12.3 billion, up from a prior forecast of $12.0 billion to $12.1 billion. The retailer also lifted its earnings outlook to $25.20 to $25.50 per share, up from $23.85 to $24.30 previously. This marks Ulta’s second straight quarter of hiking its sales and profit forecast. Analysts are taking note:

• Goldman Sachs maintained its “buy” rating and raised its price target to $642 from $584.

• DA Davidson maintained its “buy” rating and raised its price target to $650 from $625.

• JPMorgan maintained its “outperform” rating and raised its price target to $647 from $606.

• Baird maintained its “outperform” rating and hiked its price target to $670 from $600.

• Telsey Advisory maintained its “outperform” rating and raised its price target to $640 from $610.

• Piper Sandler maintained its “outperform” rating and raised its price target to $615 from $590.

• Canaccord Genuity maintained its “neutral” rating and raised its price target to $674 from $654.