Ulta Beauty Maintains Its Luster Following a Robust Surge; Further Growth Anticipated.
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Feb 19 2026
0mins
Should l Buy ULTA?
Source: Barron's
Current Climate: The world is facing scandals, geopolitical tensions, extreme weather, and concerns about artificial intelligence.
Consumer Behavior: Despite these challenges, people continue to prioritize their appearance and beauty products.
Market Outlook: Ulta Beauty's stock is perceived as an attractive investment option amidst the prevailing uncertainties.
Industry Resilience: The beauty industry demonstrates resilience as consumers seek to maintain their self-image in difficult times.
Trade with 70% Backtested Accuracy
Stop guessing "Should I Buy ULTA?" and start using high-conviction signals backed by rigorous historical data.
Sign up today to access powerful investing tools and make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Analyst Views on ULTA
Wall Street analysts forecast ULTA stock price to rise
22 Analyst Rating
15 Buy
6 Hold
1 Sell
Moderate Buy
Current: 553.360
Low
450.00
Averages
647.83
High
780.00
Current: 553.360
Low
450.00
Averages
647.83
High
780.00
About ULTA
Ulta Beauty, Inc. is a specialty United States beauty retailer and the premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skincare products, haircare products and salon services. The Company operates approximately 1,451 retail stores across 50 states and distributes products through its Website, which includes a collection of tips, tutorials, and social content. The Company’s business includes a differentiated assortment of approximately 29,000 beauty products across a variety of categories and price points, as well as a variety of beauty services, including salon services, in more than 1,400 stores predominantly located in convenient, high-traffic locations. It also offers digital experiences delivered through its Website, Ulta.com, and its mobile applications. The Company’s brands include Ulta Beauty Collection, about-face, Ariana Grande, CHANEL, FENTY BEAUTY by Rihanna, It Cosmetics, LolaVie, OUAI, PAT McGRATH LABS, Tula, and NYX Professional Makeup.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Analyst Upgrades Ulta Beauty Amid Makeup Resurgence
- Makeup Market Potential: Jefferies analyst Sydney Wagner highlights that makeup remains the highest-velocity category in beauty, accounting for 38% of Ulta's sales, indicating strong demand and growth opportunities in this sector.
- Stock Rating Upgrade: Wagner upgrades Ulta's stock rating from Hold to Buy and raises the target price by 26% to $700, reflecting optimism about the company's future performance, particularly amid a resurgence in makeup demand.
- Merchandise Optimization: Ulta has recently shifted its merchandise assortment from a “catch-up” strategy to a more proactive approach with relevant brands and trend-led launches, enhancing the pace and relevance of new brand introductions and strengthening its market competitiveness.
- Strengthened Industry Position: As the makeup cycle accelerates, Ulta's status as the most comprehensive beauty destination is expected to drive sustained growth in market share and earnings durability, with analysts generally bullish on its future prospects.
See More
Ulta Beauty's Strategic Shift Likely to Boost Stock Price
- Strategic Shift: Ulta Beauty is shifting its corporate strategy to better differentiate itself from rivals and capitalize on the ongoing demand for beauty products, with Jefferies upgrading its rating from hold to buy and raising the price target from $635 to $700, indicating a potential upside of 26.5%.
- Market Growth Potential: The global beauty market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 5% through 2030, despite concerns about cooling demand, and Ulta's stock has risen approximately 55% over the past 12 months, reflecting its strong market performance.
- New Brand Introductions: Ulta is enhancing its competitive edge by adding emerging makeup brands, with improved pace and relevance in brand additions since the change in merchandise leadership, leading to a more proactive market approach.
- Importance of Makeup Sales: Makeup accounts for about 38% of Ulta's sales, and analysts believe that a makeup-driven business cycle will support more durable traffic and sales frequency, potentially leading to higher-quality revenue and incremental margin opportunities in the future.
See More
Major Wall Street Rating Updates on Monday
- Tesla Rating Adjustment: Jefferies raised Tesla's price target from $300 to $350, anticipating Q1 results will show a widening gap between vision and execution, and concerns about funding may arise without a convincing robotaxi announcement, potentially leading to merger considerations with SpaceX.
- Apple's Positive Outlook: Morgan Stanley reiterated Apple as overweight, expecting a modest 1-2% upside in revenue and EPS in the upcoming earnings report, despite supply constraints, indicating the company's resilience in the market.
- Amazon Price Target Increase: Bank of America raised Amazon's price target from $275 to $298, believing that with strong assets and customer focus, Amazon is well-positioned to capitalize on the global growth of eCommerce and enterprise demand for AI capabilities, showcasing robust growth potential.
- Microsoft's Favorable Outlook: Deutsche Bank reiterated Microsoft as a buy, expecting Azure's performance and guidance to be focal points in the upcoming earnings report, indicating that the company's broad progress in AI initiatives will drive future growth.
See More
Naomi Watts Advocates for Menopause Conversations
- Health Advocacy: At the CNBC Changemakers Summit, Naomi Watts emphasized the importance of women feeling confident in their bodies while navigating menopause and physical changes, aiming to break societal taboos surrounding these topics and help women embrace their identities.
- Business Growth: Founded in 2022, her company Stripes Beauty focuses on assisting women with perimenopause and menopause challenges, successfully entering major retailers like Ulta Beauty and Sephora, indicating a shift of this previously niche category into mainstream consumer health.
- Market Impact: According to Midi Health, 6,000 women enter menopause daily in the U.S., totaling 1.3 million annually, and Watts' advocacy helps raise public awareness of this natural biological process, potentially driving demand for women's health products.
- Social Responsibility: By launching
See More
Ulta Beauty's Positive Outlook Ahead of Earnings Report
- Stock Performance: Ulta Beauty closed at $553.36, marking a 2.58% increase from the previous day, outperforming the S&P 500's 1.2% gain, indicating strong market resilience.
- Financial Forecast: The upcoming earnings report is expected to show an EPS of $6.94, reflecting a 3.58% year-over-year increase, with projected revenue of $3.08 billion, an 8.16% rise, highlighting the company's growth trajectory.
- Valuation Metrics: Ulta Beauty's forward P/E ratio stands at 18.99, significantly above the industry average of 16, suggesting strong market confidence in its future growth, while its PEG ratio of 1.98 is slightly higher than the industry average of 1.8.
- Analyst Ratings: Currently rated as Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), Ulta Beauty's EPS projection has slightly decreased by 0.01% in the last 30 days, yet analysts maintain a favorable outlook on the company's health, indicating potential positive stock movements in the near term.
See More
Market Volatility and AI Outlook Analysis
- Earnings Season Outlook: As Q1 concludes, the market enters earnings season, with analysts focusing on company guidance amidst geopolitical turmoil and oil price fluctuations, which may lead firms to adjust or withdraw guidance, impacting investor confidence.
- AI Infrastructure Investment: Predictions indicate that capital expenditures from the four major hyperscalers could reach $650-$700 billion in 2026; however, power and water constraints may delay or cancel data center constructions, affecting growth potential in AI-related businesses.
- SaaS Industry Prospects: Analysts express caution regarding the future of the SaaS sector, monitoring revenue growth and margin changes, particularly as economic uncertainties may prompt companies to reduce investments, putting pressure on market valuations.
- Meta's AI Developments: Meta announced a $21 billion infrastructure deal with CoreWeave, and while its AI model has excelled in various benchmarks, the challenge remains in monetizing it effectively, especially when compared to competitors like Google and Microsoft.
See More
Analyst Upgrades Ulta Beauty Amid Makeup Resurgence
- Makeup Market Potential: Jefferies analyst Sydney Wagner highlights that makeup remains the highest-velocity category in beauty, accounting for 38% of Ulta's sales, indicating strong demand and growth opportunities in this sector.
- Stock Rating Upgrade: Wagner upgrades Ulta's stock rating from Hold to Buy and raises the target price by 26% to $700, reflecting optimism about the company's future performance, particularly amid a resurgence in makeup demand.
- Merchandise Optimization: Ulta has recently shifted its merchandise assortment from a “catch-up” strategy to a more proactive approach with relevant brands and trend-led launches, enhancing the pace and relevance of new brand introductions and strengthening its market competitiveness.
- Strengthened Industry Position: As the makeup cycle accelerates, Ulta's status as the most comprehensive beauty destination is expected to drive sustained growth in market share and earnings durability, with analysts generally bullish on its future prospects.
See More
Ulta Beauty's Strategic Shift Likely to Boost Stock Price
- Strategic Shift: Ulta Beauty is shifting its corporate strategy to better differentiate itself from rivals and capitalize on the ongoing demand for beauty products, with Jefferies upgrading its rating from hold to buy and raising the price target from $635 to $700, indicating a potential upside of 26.5%.
- Market Growth Potential: The global beauty market is projected to grow at an annual rate of 5% through 2030, despite concerns about cooling demand, and Ulta's stock has risen approximately 55% over the past 12 months, reflecting its strong market performance.
- New Brand Introductions: Ulta is enhancing its competitive edge by adding emerging makeup brands, with improved pace and relevance in brand additions since the change in merchandise leadership, leading to a more proactive market approach.
- Importance of Makeup Sales: Makeup accounts for about 38% of Ulta's sales, and analysts believe that a makeup-driven business cycle will support more durable traffic and sales frequency, potentially leading to higher-quality revenue and incremental margin opportunities in the future.
See More
Major Wall Street Rating Updates on Monday
- Tesla Rating Adjustment: Jefferies raised Tesla's price target from $300 to $350, anticipating Q1 results will show a widening gap between vision and execution, and concerns about funding may arise without a convincing robotaxi announcement, potentially leading to merger considerations with SpaceX.
- Apple's Positive Outlook: Morgan Stanley reiterated Apple as overweight, expecting a modest 1-2% upside in revenue and EPS in the upcoming earnings report, despite supply constraints, indicating the company's resilience in the market.
- Amazon Price Target Increase: Bank of America raised Amazon's price target from $275 to $298, believing that with strong assets and customer focus, Amazon is well-positioned to capitalize on the global growth of eCommerce and enterprise demand for AI capabilities, showcasing robust growth potential.
- Microsoft's Favorable Outlook: Deutsche Bank reiterated Microsoft as a buy, expecting Azure's performance and guidance to be focal points in the upcoming earnings report, indicating that the company's broad progress in AI initiatives will drive future growth.
See More
Naomi Watts Advocates for Menopause Conversations
- Health Advocacy: At the CNBC Changemakers Summit, Naomi Watts emphasized the importance of women feeling confident in their bodies while navigating menopause and physical changes, aiming to break societal taboos surrounding these topics and help women embrace their identities.
- Business Growth: Founded in 2022, her company Stripes Beauty focuses on assisting women with perimenopause and menopause challenges, successfully entering major retailers like Ulta Beauty and Sephora, indicating a shift of this previously niche category into mainstream consumer health.
- Market Impact: According to Midi Health, 6,000 women enter menopause daily in the U.S., totaling 1.3 million annually, and Watts' advocacy helps raise public awareness of this natural biological process, potentially driving demand for women's health products.
- Social Responsibility: By launching
See More
Ulta Beauty's Positive Outlook Ahead of Earnings Report
- Stock Performance: Ulta Beauty closed at $553.36, marking a 2.58% increase from the previous day, outperforming the S&P 500's 1.2% gain, indicating strong market resilience.
- Financial Forecast: The upcoming earnings report is expected to show an EPS of $6.94, reflecting a 3.58% year-over-year increase, with projected revenue of $3.08 billion, an 8.16% rise, highlighting the company's growth trajectory.
- Valuation Metrics: Ulta Beauty's forward P/E ratio stands at 18.99, significantly above the industry average of 16, suggesting strong market confidence in its future growth, while its PEG ratio of 1.98 is slightly higher than the industry average of 1.8.
- Analyst Ratings: Currently rated as Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), Ulta Beauty's EPS projection has slightly decreased by 0.01% in the last 30 days, yet analysts maintain a favorable outlook on the company's health, indicating potential positive stock movements in the near term.
See More
Market Volatility and AI Outlook Analysis
- Earnings Season Outlook: As Q1 concludes, the market enters earnings season, with analysts focusing on company guidance amidst geopolitical turmoil and oil price fluctuations, which may lead firms to adjust or withdraw guidance, impacting investor confidence.
- AI Infrastructure Investment: Predictions indicate that capital expenditures from the four major hyperscalers could reach $650-$700 billion in 2026; however, power and water constraints may delay or cancel data center constructions, affecting growth potential in AI-related businesses.
- SaaS Industry Prospects: Analysts express caution regarding the future of the SaaS sector, monitoring revenue growth and margin changes, particularly as economic uncertainties may prompt companies to reduce investments, putting pressure on market valuations.
- Meta's AI Developments: Meta announced a $21 billion infrastructure deal with CoreWeave, and while its AI model has excelled in various benchmarks, the challenge remains in monetizing it effectively, especially when compared to competitors like Google and Microsoft.
See More
