What Happened?
Shares of beauty products company Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL) jumped 6.4% in the afternoon session after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to 'Buy' from 'Neutral' and raised its price target.
The investment bank increased its price target on the stock to $115 from a previous $76. Analysts at the firm noted that the cosmetics giant was at a "fundamental inflection point," with the business potentially returning to sales growth. The optimism was fueled by signs of a stabilizing market in China and a recovery in global travel retail, both of which had been areas of struggle for the company. Estée Lauder itself had anticipated a return to top-line growth and expected to achieve double-digit profit margins by its 2027 fiscal year. The upgrade reflected confidence in the company's strategic initiatives, including new brand launches on platforms like Amazon and TikTok.
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What Is The Market Telling Us
Estée Lauder’s shares are quite volatile and have had 19 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 28 days ago when the stock gained 3.5% on the news that an analyst at Evercore ISI Group reiterated a positive outlook on the company, raising the firm's price target. Evercore ISI analyst Robert Ottenstein maintained an "Outperform" rating on the beauty products giant while increasing the price target to $115 from $100. This 15% upward adjustment in the target price signals a more bullish view from the analyst firm. The new target suggests a potential upside of nearly 33% for the stock over the next twelve months, offering a positive signal to investors after the stock had recently experienced a downward trend.
Estée Lauder is up 25.6% since the beginning of the year, and at $92.95 per share, it is trading close to its 52-week high of $95.76 from October 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Estée Lauder’s shares 5 years ago would now be looking at an investment worth $416.78.
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