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Investing.com - Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA), the $20.7 billion beauty retailer with a "GREAT" financial health score according to InvestingPro, announced Wednesday that Chief Financial Officer Paula Oyibo has left the company, prompting a search for her replacement.
Chris Lialios, a 25-year veteran of Ulta’s finance team, has stepped in as interim CFO while the company conducts what it described as a broad search for a permanent replacement.
The CFO transition comes as new CEO Kecia Steelman evaluates the critical skillsets needed for Ulta’s future strategies, which include increasing business complexity and global expansion efforts.
Evercore ISI maintained its Outperform rating on Ulta stock with a $490.00 price target following the announcement, viewing the externally-focused CFO search as a positive sign.
Evercore noted that the company’s approach to finding a replacement demonstrates that Ulta is "taking a no-sacred-cows approach to finding the absolute correct pedigree versus limiting itself to options inside the company today."
In other recent news, Ulta Beauty has reported a notable 4.5% year-over-year increase in first-quarter sales, reaching approximately $2.848 billion, surpassing analyst expectations of $2.794 billion. The company’s comparable store sales also rose by 2.9%, exceeding the modest 0.2% increase projected by analysts. Ulta Beauty has updated its fiscal 2025 guidance, maintaining expectations for comparable store sales growth between 0% and 1.5%, and operating margin between 11.7% and 11.8%. The company has appointed Chris Lialios as Interim Chief Financial Officer following Paula Oyibo’s departure, while an external search for a permanent CFO is underway. Analyst firms have adjusted their price targets for Ulta Beauty, with UBS raising its target to $525 and maintaining a Buy rating. BMO Capital Markets increased its price target to $454, citing strong first-quarter results, while maintaining a Market Perform rating. TD Cowen raised its price target to $465, holding a cautious Hold rating due to potential challenges in leveraging occupancy costs. Loop Capital also raised its price target to $510, maintaining a Buy rating, citing improved pricing competitiveness and positive consumer sentiment. These developments reflect a mix of optimism and caution among analysts regarding Ulta Beauty’s future performance.
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