What's Going On With Ulta Beauty Stock Friday?

Ulta Beauty, Inc. ULTA shares are moving lower on Friday after the company cut its 2024 fiscal year guidance, citing first half trends and a ‘more cautious’ outlook. The company lowered its guidance and reported second quarter earnings after the market closed Thursday.

What To Know: Ulta lowered its guidance for adjusted EPS to between $22.60 and $23.50. Previously, the company saw fiscal year adjusted EPS between $25.20 and $26. In addition, Ulta has revised its net sales guidance to between $11 billion and $11.2 billion, down from $11.5 billion to $11.6 billion.

Second Quarter Earnings: Ulta reported EPS of $5.30 missing analysts estimate of $5.55 and sales of $2.55 billion missing analysts estimate of $2.61 billion. Compared to the same period last year, the reported net sales figure represents a 0.9% increase.

Comparable sales decreased 1.2% compared to the 2023 fiscal year second quarter. Also, Ulta reported operating income of $329.2 million and net income of $252.6 million.

Company Updates: Throughout the second quarter, the company opened 17 new stores, relocated one store, remodeled nine stores and closed one store.

Analyst Changes: Following the earnings report, multiple analysts issued price target adjustments.

• B of A Securities analyst Lorraine Hutchinson maintained a Neutral rating on Ulta Beauty and lowered the price target from $425 to $380.
• Raymond James analyst Olivia Tong downgraded Ulta Beauty from a Strong Buy rating to a Outperform rating and lowered the price target from $500 to $450.
• Evercore ISI Group analyst Michael Binetti maintained a Outperform rating on Ulta Beauty and lowered the price target from $430 to $420.
• Oppenheimer analyst Rupesh Parikh maintained a Outperform rating on Ulta Beauty and lowered the price target from $450 to $435.
• TD Cowen analyst Oliver Chen maintained a Buy rating on Ulta Beauty and lowered the price target from $500 to $395.
• Stifel analyst Mark Astrachan maintained a Hold rating on Ulta Beauty and lowered the price target from $475 to $385.

See Also: Dell Q2 Earnings: Revenue Beat, EPS Beat, Accelerating AI Momentum And More

ULTA Price Action: At the time of writing, Ulta Beauty shares are moving 2.65% lower at $357.85, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Image: Michael Gordon/Shutterstock