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Is Ulta Beauty Stock Outperforming the S&P 500?

Kritika Sarmah

2 min read

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Ulta Beauty Inc phone with blue background by- IgorGolovniov via Shutterstock

Ulta Beauty Inc phone with blue background by- IgorGolovniov via Shutterstock

Bolingbrook, Illinois-based Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA) operates as a specialty beauty retailer in the United States. With a market cap of $21.2 billion, the company offers branded and private label beauty products, including cosmetics, fragrance, haircare, skincare, bath and body products, and professional hair products.

Companies worth $10 billion or more are typically referred to as "large-cap stocks." ULTA fits right into that category, with its market cap exceeding this threshold, reflecting its substantial size and influence in the specialty retail industry. ULTA benefits from selling more than 25,000 products from about 500 well-established and emerging beauty brands across all categories and price points.

Despite its strengths, the stock has plunged 3.8% from its 52-week high of $491.98 touched on May 30. Moreover, over the past three months, ULTA stock has grown 37.7%, outperforming the S&P 500 Index’s ($SPX) 6.5% uptick during the same time frame.

www.barchart.com

www.barchart.com

ULTA stock has grown 8.9% on a YTD basis, outperforming SPX’s 1.7% uptick in 2025. Moreover, ULTA has surged 23.8% over the past 52 weeks, outperforming SPX’s 9% gains.

To confirm its bullish trend, ULTA has been trading above its 200-day and 50-day moving averages since late April.

www.barchart.com

www.barchart.com

On May 29, ULTA stock rose 1.2% following the release of its Q1 earnings. The company reported a 4.5% year-over-year rise in its net sales, which amounted to $2.8 billion, mainly driven by increased comparable sales and new store contribution, and surpassed the Street’s estimates. Its gross profit increased 4.2% from the prior year’s quarter to $1.1 billion as well. ULTA’s adjusted EPS for the quarter came in at $6.70, surpassing the consensus estimates by 16.1%.

Within the specialty retail arena, rival Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (WSM) has declined 13.4% in 2025 and rose marginally over the past year, underperforming the stock.

Among the 27 analysts covering the ULTA stock, the consensus rating is a “Moderate Buy.” Its mean price target of $480.56 suggests a modest 1.5% upside potential from current price levels.

On the date of publication, Kritika Sarmah did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com