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Ulta (ULTA) Moves 5.2% Higher: Will This Strength Last?

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Ulta Beauty (ULTA - Free Report) shares soared 5.2% in the last trading session to close at $345.36. The move was backed by solid volume with far more shares changing hands than in a normal session. This compares to the stock's 0.2% loss over the past four weeks.

Ulta Beauty’s shares got a boost as the company raised its fiscal 2021 guidance on posting robust first-quarter results. During the quarter, both top and bottom lines increased year over year and came way past the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Increased consumer confidence, government stimulus and lifting of COVID-related curbs boosted results. Also, the company continued to gain on splendid e-commerce trends, as well as strength in the skincare category.

Management stated that the company is well placed for recovery in the beauty space, thanks to its differentiated model and endeavors to build important guest connections. Impressively, the company raised its sales, comparable sales, operating margin and earnings guidance for fiscal 2021. Management now expects net sales of $7.7-$7.8 billion. Comparable sales growth is now expected in the range of 23-25%. Further, management expects operating margin to be around 11% now. Earnings are now envisioned in the range of $11.5-$11.95 per share.

In first-quarter fiscal 2021, earnings per share came in at $4.10, considerably ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.92. Net sales of $1,938.5 million easily beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,673 million.

Price and Consensus

Price Consensus Chart for ULTA

This beauty products retailer is expected to post quarterly earnings of $2.13 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +192%. Revenues are expected to be $1.63 billion, up 32.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For Ulta, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 15.8% higher over the last 30 days to the current level. And a positive trend in earnings estimate revision usually translates into price appreciation. So, make sure to keep an eye on ULTA going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>


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