Strong sales growth sends Big Money to Ulta Beauty, Inc. (ULTA).
ULTA is a global beauty products retailer, selling makeup, skin care products, accessories, fragrances, as well as bath and body products in its stores and online. The company’s product launches, personalized marketing, and large activations like Ulta Beauty World, reinforce its position as a beauty player. And its strong loyalty program keeps customers coming back.
As for earnings, ULTA’s first-quarter fiscal 2025 report showed a 4.5% jump in net sales, to $2.8 billion. Diluted per-share earnings were $6.70, which reflected an operating profit of 14.1% of sales. Comparable sales jumped nearly 3% as six new stores were added to the company’s portfolio. ULTA also updated its annual net sales guidance to upwards of $11.7 billion and EPS guidance of up to $23.20 per share, even in a trying economic environment.
It’s no wonder ULTA shares are up 7% this year – and they could rise more. MoneyFlows data shows how Big Money investors are betting heavily on the forward picture of the stock.
Institutional volumes reveal plenty. In the last year, ULTA has enjoyed strong investor demand, which we believe to be institutional support.
Each green bar signals unusually large volumes in ULTA shares. They reflect our proprietary inflow signal, pushing the stock higher:
Plenty of staples names are under accumulation right now. But there’s a powerful fundamental story happening with Ulta Beauty.
Institutional support and a healthy fundamental backdrop make this company worth investigating. As you can see, ULTA has had strong sales and earnings growth:
Source: FactSet
Also, EPS is estimated to ramp higher this year by +10.6%.
Now it makes sense why the stock has been powering to new heights. ULTA has a track record of strong financial performance.
Marrying great fundamentals with our proprietary software has found some big winning stocks over the long term.
Ulta Beauty has been a top-rated stock at MoneyFlows for years. That means the stock has unusual buy pressure and growing fundamentals. We have a ranking process that showcases stocks like this on a weekly basis.
It’s made the rare Outlier 20 report multiple times since 2007. The blue bars below show when ULTA was a top pick…boosted over time by Big Money inflows:
Tracking unusual volumes reveals the power of money flows.
This is a trait that most outlier stocks exhibit…the best of the best. Big Money demand drives stocks upward.
The ULTA rally isn’t new at all. Big Money buying in the shares is signaling to take notice. Given the historical gains in share price and strong fundamentals, this stock could be worth a spot in a diversified portfolio.
Disclosure: the author holds no position in ULTA at the time of publication.
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Lucas is a well-versed equity investor and educator. He currently is co-founder of research and analytics firm, MAPsignals.com, which focuses on finding outlier stocks by following the Big Money.