Ulta Beauty slides despite strong Q1 results as investors weigh modest guidance changes and cost/inventory signals

Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA) is down 6.5% today. Here is some analysis on what might have caused this price movement.

Analysis: The move appears tied to a post-earnings “sell-the-news” reaction after Ulta’s fiscal Q1 2026 report, where results were strong but key parts of the full-year outlook were only modestly adjusted. Investors may also be focusing on signs of higher spending and a meaningful inventory build, which can raise concerns about margin durability and promotional intensity later in the year.

Details:

Ulta reported fiscal Q1 2026 net sales of about $3.16 billion (+11.1% year over year) and comparable sales growth of 5.3%.

Diluted EPS for the quarter was $7.74 (+15.5% year over year), and operating income rose to about $448 million.

Full-year fiscal 2026 net sales growth and comparable sales growth ranges were kept the same, while diluted EPS guidance was raised to about $28.36–$28.80.

Merchandise inventories rose to roughly $2.4 billion (+12.5%), with commentary pointing to new brand launches, the Space NK acquisition, and store growth; Ulta also repurchased about $555 million of shares in the quarter.

Sources:

Ulta Beauty Investor Relations, U.S. SEC, Investing.com

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

$ULTA Insider Trading Activity

$ULTA insiders have traded $ULTA stock on the open market 1 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 1 have been sales.

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

GEORGE R JR MRKONIC sold 452 shares for an estimated $243,759

To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard. You can access data on insider stock transactions through the Quiver Quantitative API insider transaction endpoint.

EARLY ACCESS

Receive ULTA Data Alerts

Real-time alerts on filings, insider trades, and market signals — before everyone else.

Get Alerts →

$ULTA Hedge Fund Activity

We have seen 505 institutional investors add shares of $ULTA stock to their portfolio, and 593 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.

Here are some of the largest recent moves:

DIAMANT ASSET MANAGEMENT, INC. added 1,471,222 shares (+52171.0%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $769,022,451
SANDERS CAPITAL, LLC added 644,403 shares (+51.0%) to their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $336,835,892
MARSHALL WACE, LLP removed 478,172 shares (-99.9%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $249,945,286
AGF MANAGEMENT LTD removed 349,598 shares (-98.1%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $182,738,370
T. ROWE PRICE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC. removed 333,602 shares (-34.3%) from their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $201,832,546
1832 ASSET MANAGEMENT L.P. removed 231,637 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q1 2026, for an estimated $121,078,976
D. E. SHAW & CO., INC. added 218,762 shares (+4942.7%) to their portfolio in Q4 2025, for an estimated $132,353,197

To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard. You can access data on hedge funds moves and 13F filings through the Quiver Quantitative API 13F endpoint.

$ULTA Congressional Stock Trading

Members of Congress have traded $ULTA stock 2 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 1 have been purchases and 1 have been sales.

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

REPRESENTATIVE MARIA ELVIRA SALAZAR purchased up to $50,000 on 03/19.
REPRESENTATIVE DAN NEWHOUSE sold up to $15,000 on 12/11.

To track congressional stock trading, check out Quiver Quantitative's congressional trading dashboard. You can access data on congressional stock trades through the Quiver Quantitative API Congress trades endpoint.

$ULTA Analyst Ratings

Wall Street analysts have issued reports on $ULTA in the last several months. We have seen 4 firms issue buy ratings on the stock, and 0 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

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 18 analysts offer price targets for $ULTA in the last 6 months, with a median target of $700.0.

Here are some recent targets:

Michael Baker from DA Davidson set a target price of $585.0 on 06/03/2026
Adrienne Yih from Barclays set a target price of $647.0 on 06/03/2026
Mark Altschwager from Baird set a target price of $700.0 on 06/03/2026
Ike Boruchow from Wells Fargo set a target price of $450.0 on 06/03/2026
Sydney Wagner from Jefferies set a target price of $700.0 on 04/20/2026
Susan Anderson from Canaccord Genuity set a target price of $799.0 on 03/13/2026
Christopher Horvers from JP Morgan set a target price of $750.0 on 03/13/2026

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.