Holocene Advisors LP Boosts Stock Position in Ulta Beauty Inc. $ULTA

Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Ulta Beauty Inc. (NASDAQ:ULTA) by 339.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 379,939 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 293,516 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP’s holdings in Ulta Beauty were worth $207,732,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ULTA. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Grey Fox Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ulta Beauty in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, BOKF NA purchased a new position in Ulta Beauty during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 90.39% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Ulta Beauty News

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 Trading Down 14.2%

Shares of ULTA opened at $535.72 on Monday. Ulta Beauty Inc. has a 12-month low of $323.36 and a 12-month high of $714.97. The company has a market cap of $23.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $665.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $587.65.

Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The specialty retailer reported $8.01 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.08. Ulta Beauty had a net margin of 9.31% and a return on equity of 43.56%. The business had revenue of $3.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $8.46 earnings per share. Ulta Beauty’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. Ulta Beauty has set its FY 2026 guidance at 28.050-28.550 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Ulta Beauty Inc. will post 23.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ULTA. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Ulta Beauty from $674.00 to $799.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $810.00 price objective on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird set a $700.00 target price on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ulta Beauty in a report on Friday, December 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $671.27.

About Ulta Beauty

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.