Ulta Beauty (ULTA) was upgraded to ‘Overweight’ from ‘Equal Weight’ at Barclays, with the firm noting that the beauty retailer’s return to positive comparables and margin expansion is sustainable ahead of quarterly results next week.  

Barclays raised its price target to $589, up from $518, according to TheFly. The firm added that Ulta is seeing promotional improvement and below-average tariff headwinds. Barclays views the company's fiscal 2025 guidance as conservative with "beat and raise potential."

Retail sentiment on Ulta dipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘extremely bullish’ territory, with chatter at ‘high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits. Shares of Ulta were up 2% in early trading on Friday.

In May, Ulta forecast net sales for fiscal 2025 to be between $11.5 billion and $11.7 billion. The company expects annual earnings per share (EPS) of $22.65 to $23.20. The company is expected to post second-quarter sales of $2.65 billion and EPS of $4.99, according to data compiled by Fiscal AI. Ulta is set to report quarterly results on August 28.

JPMorgan also raised its price target on Ulta to $600 from $525 and maintained its ‘Overweight’ rating. The firm upped its second-quarter comparable estimate to positive 4.8% versus Wall Street's 2.5%, citing its channel and data work. JPMorgan noted that it also increased Ulta's earnings estimates to reflect cost leverage and lower promotions.

Ulta stock has jumped nearly 20% this year and surged about 39% in the last 12 months.

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