Shares of Ulta Beauty Inc (NASDAQ:ULTA) are moving 1.4% higher to trade at $527.27 at last check, after the makeup retailer landed an upgrade to "overweight" from "equal weight" at Barclays. The brokerage also hiked its price target to $589 from $518, citing an upbeat outlook on same-store sales and its ability to remain steady amid tariff headwinds.
ULTA is back above $520, bouncing off a floor at $500 following a pullback from its Aug. 13, 52-week peak of $534.10. The shares have added 40.7% over the past 12 months and are now pacing for a third-straight daily gain, after enjoying an impressive 11.8% post-earnings pop on May 30.
This bull note comes just ahead of Ulta Beauty's second-quarter report, due out after the close on Thursday, Aug. 28. Of the 27 brokerages in coverage, 15 carry a "hold" or "strong sell" rating. This means there is plenty of room for more bull notes, should this bearish sentiment continue to unwind.
Options traders have been much more bearish than usual toward the security in recent weeks as well. At the International Securities Exchange (ISE), Cboe Options Exchange (CBOE), and NASDAQ OMX PHLX (PHLX), ULTA's 10-day put/call volume ratio of 1.03 ranks higher 80% of readings from the past year.
Echoing this, short-term traders sport a put-bias. This is per the security's Schaeffer's put/call open interest ratio (SOIR) of 1.73, which sits in the 99th percentile of readings from the past 12 months.
