Why Ulta Beauty's Shares Popped

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of beauty products retailer Ulta Beauty (NAS: ULTA) jumped 10% today after the company released a strong earnings report.

So what: Ulta reported first-quarter sales of $474.1 million and earnings per share of $0.54. Both results were slightly above expectations, which were $473.9 million in revenue and earnings per share of $0.53.

Now what: Oppenheimer reiterated an outperform rating and increased its price target to $100, helping drive the stock today, but I'm not sure what analysts are seeing here. Results were barely better than estimates, and the stock still trades at 30 times forward earnings estimates. I'd like to see a lot more growth or a lot better value before jumping into this stock.

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At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Travis Hoium does not have a position in any company mentioned. You can follow Travis on Twitter at @FlushDrawFool, check out his personal stock holdings or follow his CAPS picks at TMFFlushDraw.Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Ulta Beauty. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.

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