e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) Short Interest Down 47.8% in August

Posted by Stanley Muller on Sep 1st, 2026

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF – Get Free Report) was the target of a large drop in short interest in August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 4,186,787 shares, a drop of 47.8% from the July 30th total of 8,016,841 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,197,906 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 7.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

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

In related news, Director Lauren Cooks Levitan sold 1,034 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.15, for a total transaction of $96,317.10. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,516 shares in the company, valued at $979,565.40. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jennifer Catherine Hartnett sold 25,357 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $2,028,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,699 shares in the company, valued at $2,295,920. This represents a 46.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 140,780 shares of company stock worth $10,091,078. 3.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On e.l.f. Beauty

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of e.l.f. Beauty in the second quarter worth $428,262,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,487,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,255,000 after buying an additional 140,258 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in e.l.f. Beauty by 7,535.2% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,073,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,429,000 after purchasing an additional 5,006,919 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of e.l.f. Beauty by 47.9% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,197,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,086,000 after buying an additional 711,540 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its stake in e.l.f. Beauty by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,737,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,095,000 after acquiring an additional 13,231 shares in the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

e.l.f. Beauty Stock Performance

ELF stock opened at $108.93 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.23. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. e.l.f. Beauty has a 12-month low of $48.82 and a 12-month high of $150.99. The firm has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 108.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.58.

e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $1.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $1.04. The business had revenue of $479.37 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $431.20 million. e.l.f. Beauty had a net margin of 3.38% and a return on equity of 14.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 35.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. e.l.f. Beauty has set its FY 2027 guidance at 3.500-3.550 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that e.l.f. Beauty will post 2.64 EPS for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting e.l.f. Beauty

Here are the key news stories impacting e.l.f. Beauty this week:

Positive Sentiment: European expansion supports the growth narrative. Investors responded favorably to e.l.f. Beauty’s expansion efforts in Europe, viewing international markets as an opportunity to extend the company’s strong sales momentum. e.l.f. Beauty Stock Climbs Following European Expansion: What Investors Need to Know
Positive Sentiment: Management is prioritizing market-share gains. Recent commentary characterizes e.l.f. Beauty as aggressively investing to capture additional share in the beauty market, reinforcing its long-term growth thesis. e.l.f. Beauty Stock: Buy or Sell?
Positive Sentiment: The broader beauty-stock selloff began to reverse. e.l.f. Beauty and Ulta Beauty led a sector rebound after Friday’s post-earnings decline, suggesting some investors viewed the earlier weakness as an opportunity to buy. Ulta Beauty Climbs 4%, e.l.f. Beauty Rises 5% as Post-Earnings Selloff Reverses
Neutral Sentiment: Long-term growth remains the central investment case. Coverage highlights e.l.f. Beauty’s appeal to growth and momentum investors, consistent with its recent strong sales performance, but does not identify a new near-term catalyst. Why e.l.f. Beauty Is a Top Growth Stock for the Long Term
Neutral Sentiment: e.l.f. Beauty released a study with Parity examining how girls’ sports participation may influence women’s workplace outcomes. The initiative supports the company’s brand positioning but is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. e.l.f. Beauty and Parity Release Girls Who Play Change the Game
Negative Sentiment: Marketing expenses are rising alongside sales. Investors must weigh the company’s strong revenue growth against heavier spending to support customer acquisition and market-share expansion, which could pressure margins and earnings if sales growth slows. e.l.f. Beauty Stock: Buy or Sell?

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ELF has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of e.l.f. Beauty from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $85.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on e.l.f. Beauty from $85.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of e.l.f. Beauty from $111.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, e.l.f. Beauty has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.12.

View Our Latest Report on ELF

About e.l.f. Beauty

(Get Free Report)

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.