e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totaling 7,643,710 shares, a drop of 36.2% from the June 30th total of 11,978,483 shares. Approximately 13.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,737,886 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at e.l.f. Beauty

In other e.l.f. Beauty news, insider Scott Milsten sold 4,162 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.53, for a total value of $214,467.86. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 144,581 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,450,258.93. This trade represents a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Mandy J. Fields sold 4,327 shares of e.l.f. Beauty stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.53, for a total transaction of $222,970.31. Following the transaction, the insider owned 106,961 shares in the company, valued at $5,511,700.33. This represents a 3.89% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 121,855 shares of company stock worth $8,351,493. 3.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of e.l.f. Beauty

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 9.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 153,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,650,000 after buying an additional 13,851 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in e.l.f. Beauty by 168.6% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after buying an additional 4,069 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 176.4% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 2,985 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of e.l.f. Beauty during the 1st quarter worth approximately $240,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 317 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

e.l.f. Beauty Price Performance

ELF traded up $0.73 on Friday, hitting $82.99. 1,669,345 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,172,246. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $71.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 180.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.59. e.l.f. Beauty has a one year low of $48.82 and a one year high of $150.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.35, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 20th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $449.29 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $423.06 million. e.l.f. Beauty had a return on equity of 11.02% and a net margin of 1.61%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. e.l.f. Beauty has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.270-3.320 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.41 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on ELF. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $115.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of e.l.f. Beauty in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $60.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, e.l.f. Beauty presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.75.

e.l.f. Beauty Company Profile

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) is an American cosmetics company known for offering an extensive range of affordable, trend-driven makeup and skincare products. The company’s portfolio spans foundations, lipsticks, mascaras, brushes, serums, masks and other beauty essentials, all positioned at accessible price points. e.l.f. Beauty maintains a direct-to-consumer platform through its e-commerce site and engages in widespread retail partnerships with major chains such as Target, Walmart, Ulta Beauty and Amazon.

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Oakland, California, e.l.f.