Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Olaplex Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:OLPX) shares gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $1.24, but opened at $1.17. Olaplex shares last traded at $1.2250, with a volume of 700,362 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OLPX. Barclays set a $1.75 price objective on shares of Olaplex in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $1.40 target price on shares of Olaplex in a research report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Olaplex in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of Olaplex in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $2.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore set a $2.50 price objective on Olaplex in a report on Friday, March 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $1.88.

Olaplex Stock Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $820.02 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -122.50 and a beta of 2.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 4.58 and a quick ratio of 4.00.

Olaplex (NASDAQ:OLPX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, March 5th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.01. The company had revenue of $105.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $104.21 million. Olaplex had a negative net margin of 2.19% and a positive return on equity of 1.07%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.01 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Olaplex Holdings, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Olaplex

In other news, insider Trisha L. Fox sold 26,426 shares of Olaplex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.26, for a total value of $33,296.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 721,169 shares in the company, valued at approximately $908,672.94. The trade was a 3.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel John C. Duffy sold 34,824 shares of Olaplex stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.26, for a total transaction of $43,878.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 633,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $797,834.52. This trade represents a 5.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Olaplex

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Planning raised its position in Olaplex by 35.0% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 37,357 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 9,690 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Olaplex by 15.8% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 74,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Olaplex by 27.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 49,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 10,609 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Olaplex by 95.4% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 29,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 14,507 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Olaplex in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. 87.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Olaplex

Olaplex, Inc (NASDAQ: OLPX) is a specialty haircare company known for its patented bond-building technology designed to repair and strengthen hair from within. The company’s core offerings encompass a range of professional salon treatments and at-home maintenance products that target chemical damage, breakage and split ends. Olaplex formulations are built around a proprietary active ingredient that works at the molecular level to rebuild disulfide bonds broken during bleaching, coloring and heat styling processes.

Founded in 2014 and headquartered in Irvine, California, Olaplex initially gained traction among high-end salons before expanding into broader retail channels.