Why Sally Beauty (SBH) Stock Is Up Today

What Happened?

Shares of beauty supply retailer Sally Beauty (NYSE:SBH) jumped 4.5% in the afternoon session after Raymond James upgraded the stock to "Outperform" from "Market Perform." 

The firm also set a price target of $19.00 for the beauty products retailer. According to analyst Olivia Tong, the more positive view was based on the belief that recent store upgrades and changes to how the company operates should lead to more stable growth. The upgrade indicated a shift in the analyst's confidence in the company's future performance.

After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $16.68, up 3.9% from previous close.

Is now the time to buy Sally Beauty? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.

What Is The Market Telling Us

Sally Beauty’s shares are very volatile and have had 22 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.

The biggest move we wrote about over the last year was 8 months ago when the stock gained 21.3% on the news that the company reported impressive first quarter 2025 results, with a significant margin improvement contributing to the EBITDA and EPS beat. On the other hand, sales fell 2.8%, weighed down by softer foot traffic and weaker demand for stylists due to the harsh flu season and macro uncertainty. Zooming out, we think this was a mixed yet decent marred by short-term challenges.

Sally Beauty is up 15.1% since the beginning of the year, and at $16.68 per share, has set a new 52-week high. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Sally Beauty’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $1,152.

The 1999 book Gorilla Game predicted Microsoft and Apple would dominate tech before it happened. Its thesis? Identify the platform winners early. Today, enterprise software companies embedding generative AI are becoming the new gorillas. Click here for access to our special report that reveals one profitable leader already riding this wave, it’s free.