According to investment firm Jefferies, a strong quarterly report is the start of a solid recovery for Ulta BT. On Thursday, Ulta blew first-quarter estimates, generating $6.30 in adjusted earnings per share on revenue of $2.35 billion. Analysts polled by Refinitiv were expecting $4.46 in earnings per share on revenue of $2.12 billion. The company’s guidance also topped expectations. Analyst Stephanie Visink upgraded Beauty stock from hold to buy, saying that a strong first-quarter report served as a signal to investors that a rebound is in full swing. Ulta was the unexpected rebalancing winner, the ‘all clear’ on makeup sounds we should be hearing: Now that ~45% of Ulta is associated with makeup (versus 50%+ prependemic), we’ve been waiting for the suggestion of the ‘all clear’ that demand had returned to pre-pandemic levels with recovery and continued momentum,” Visink wrote. Retail companies’ earnings overall have been mixed, but makeup appears to be one of the sector’s strongest after Ulta’s report. “The importance of makeup cannot be overstated as it is the highest velocity category in beauty and this inflection gives us continued engagement in 2H and greater confidence in motion,” Visink wrote. Jefferies raised its price target on Ulta from $400 to $475 per share. Where the stock closed on Thursday, the new target is more than 25 percent. Ulta’s shares were down about 8% year over year before the earnings report. — CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.