Target And Ulta Beauty Shares Fall Following Termination Of Retail Partnership: What Investors Need To Know

Shares of Target Corp TGT and Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA are falling Thursday morning following a joint announcement that their “Ulta Beauty at Target” shop-in-shop partnership will not be renewed.

What To Know: The current agreement, which established miniature Ulta stores inside hundreds of Target locations, is now set to conclude in August 2026. The market reacted swiftly to the news, signaling investor uncertainty over the future growth strategies of both retail giants now that the popular collaboration has an end date.

Launched in 2021, the alliance was hailed as a strategic move to expand access to prestige beauty products for Target’s broad customer base while increasing Ulta’s physical footprint.

A key feature was the integration of the company’s respective loyalty programs, allowing shoppers to link Target Circle and Ulta Beauty Rewards accounts. Both companies confirmed that the in-store experience and rewards linkage will continue to operate normally until the 2026 expiration.

Both retailers are framing the mutual decision as a strategic pivot. Ulta’s management noted the move aligns with their “Ulta Beauty Unleashed” plans, which include new ventures like the upcoming Ulta Beauty Marketplace.

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, TGT shares are trading lower by 2.57% to $102.62 Thursday morning. ULTA shares are meanwhile lower by 1.93% to $525.45.

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How To Buy ULTA Stock

Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share – or fractional share – of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument.

For example, in Ulta Beauty’s case, it is in the Consumer Discretionary sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment.

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