Ulta Beauty slides as investors weigh margin pressure and cautious FY2026 comp outlook after earnings

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA) is down 12.1% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to Ulta’s fiscal Q4 and full-year FY2025 results and its initial FY2026 outlook, with investors focusing on profitability pressure despite solid sales growth. While revenue and comparable sales were strong, margins and quarterly EPS declined year over year, and the FY2026 EPS range looked roughly in line-to-slightly below some expectations.

Details:

Ulta reported Q4 net sales of $3.9 billion (+11.8% year over year) and comparable sales up 5.8%, helped by higher average ticket and transaction growth.

Q4 diluted EPS was $8.01 versus $8.46 a year earlier, alongside an operating margin of 12.2% versus 14.8%, reflecting heavier expense and deleverage.

SG&A expenses rose 23% year over year in Q4, which the company tied to higher corporate overhead from strategic investments, advertising, and incentive compensation.

For FY2026, Ulta guided to comparable sales growth of 2.5% to 3.5% and diluted EPS of $28.05 to $28.55, which may have read as conservative given the stock’s recent run into the print.

Sources:

Ulta Beauty Investor Relations, Newsquawk

Disclaimer: This price movement analysis was generated with the help of AI. Please double-check the information provided for mistakes.

$ULTA Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 471 institutional investors add shares of $ULTA stock to their portfolio, and 583 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

UBS AM, A DISTINCT BUSINESS UNIT OF UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC removed 1,479,617 shares (-76.6%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $895,183,081
HOLOCENE ADVISORS, LP removed 359,539 shares (-94.6%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $217,524,690
AGF MANAGEMENT LTD added 349,133 shares (+4859.2%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $211,228,956
T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. removed 333,602 shares (-34.3%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $201,832,546
CITADEL ADVISORS LLC removed 307,428 shares (-74.1%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $185,997,014
SQUAREPOINT OPS LLC added 245,452 shares (+1306.0%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $148,500,914
GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC added 236,504 shares (+83.4%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $143,087,285

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.

$ULTA Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $ULTA stock 2 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 2 have been sales.

Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $ULTA stock by members of Congress over the last 6 months:

REPRESENTATIVE DAN NEWHOUSE sold up to $15,000 on 12/11.
REPRESENTATIVE VAL T. HOYLE sold up to $15,000 on 09/23.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard.

$ULTA Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $ULTA in the last several months. We have seen 10 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 1 firms issue sell ratings.

Here are some recent analyst ratings:

TD Cowen issued a "Buy" rating on 01/21/2026
Morgan Stanley issued a "Overweight" rating on 01/15/2026
UBS issued a "Buy" rating on 01/07/2026
Oppenheimer issued a "Outperform" rating on 12/10/2025
Baird issued a "Outperform" rating on 12/05/2025
Telsey Advisory Group issued a "Outperform" rating on 12/05/2025
Evercore ISI Group issued a "Outperform" rating on 12/05/2025

To track analyst ratings and price targets for $ULTA, check out Quiver Quantitative's $ULTA forecast page.

$ULTA Price Targets

Multiple analysts have issued price targets for $ULTA recently. We have seen 17 analysts offer price targets for $ULTA in the last 6 months, with a median target of $712.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Michael Binetti from Evercore ISI Group set a target price of $725.0 on 03/11/2026
Susan Anderson from Canaccord Genuity set a target price of $799.0 on 03/10/2026
Dana Telsey from Telsey Advisory Group set a target price of $715.0 on 03/09/2026
Adrienne Yih from Barclays set a target price of $712.0 on 03/09/2026
Ike Boruchow from Wells Fargo set a target price of $500.0 on 03/09/2026
Oliver Chen from TD Cowen set a target price of $775.0 on 01/21/2026
Olivia Tong from Raymond James set a target price of $790.0 on 01/21/2026

This article is not financial advice. See Quiver Quantitative's disclaimers for more information. Note that there may be inaccuracies due to mistakes in ticker-mapping, and other anomalies.