Ulta Beauty Inc. was downgraded to neutral from overweight at Piper Jaffray after findings from the firm’s latest Teen Survey showed declines in spending on color cosmetics and skincare, as well as a trough in fragrance spending. The company’s price target was slashed to $210 from $260. Ulta shares are down 1.7% in Wednesday trading. “[O]verall beauty wallet contracted low-double digits,” analysts wrote in a Wednesday note. “While specialty is the primary share gainer within cosmetics, we did see broader signs of strength from Sephora–now the No. 1 preferred beauty format across upper and average-income females–unseating Ulta in average-income survey.” Other popular names from the Teen Survey include Amazon.com Inc. , Adidas AG and Apple Inc. In addition to the survey results, Piper Jaffray analysts cite growing competition from Amazon, Sephora, as well as other up-and-comers in the beauty space, and moderating same-store sales for its downgrade. Ulta shares are down 23.2% for the last three months while the S&P 500 index is up 4.2% for the period.
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