What Happened?
Shares of cosmetics company e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE: ELF) jumped 2.3% in the morning session after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock, citing the strong performance and potential of the rhode skincare line.
The investment firm increased its target to $170 from $134, the highest among analysts, while keeping its "Overweight" rating. The move came after rhode's "record-breaking" launch at Sephora stores. The bank's analysts described the rhode line as a "high-growth, high-margin complement" to e.l.f.'s main product portfolio. Strong sales data for the company's core e.l.f. brand also supported the firm's positive view on the stock's future.
After the initial pop the shares cooled down to $144.22, up 2.6% from previous close.
Is now the time to buy e.l.f. Beauty? Access our full analysis report here.
What Is The Market Telling Us
e.l.f. Beauty’s shares are extremely volatile and have had 48 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 8 days ago when the stock gained 2.3% on the news that analysts showed increased confidence in the company, with several firms raising their price targets and one initiating coverage with a buy rating.
The positive sentiment followed a series of favorable reviews from financial analysts. B of A Securities and B. Riley Securities both increased their price target for the stock to $160, while Raymond James lifted its target to $155. All three firms maintained their 'Strong Buy' ratings. Adding to the bullish outlook, Piper Sandler began its coverage of e.l.f. Beauty, assigning it a 'Buy' rating and setting a price target of $150. These actions signaled a strong belief in the company's future performance from multiple financial institutions.
e.l.f. Beauty is up 17.3% since the beginning of the year, and at $144.22 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $146.67 from September 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of e.l.f. Beauty’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $6,822.
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