Appian Corp vs Ulta Beauty Inc — how do they compare? Appian Corp trades at $35.5 (market cap $2.55B), while Ulta Beauty Inc trades at $542.13 (market cap $23.59B). The key difference: Ulta Beauty Inc is far larger — about 9.3× Appian Corp's market cap, and Appian Corp is trading nearer its 52-week high, Ulta Beauty Inc nearer its low. Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| APPN | ULTA | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $2.55B | $23.59B |
Sector | Technology | Consumer Cyclical |
52-Week High | $45.64 | $706.82 |
52-Week Low | $18.72 | $450.75 |
Enterprise Value | $2.68B | $25.67B |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Appian (APPN) surged 13.91% to $34.64 following strong Q2 2026 earnings that exceeded expectations, with cloud subscription revenue growing 23% year-over-year. The stock trades near its pivot point of $34 with bullish technical signals from moving averages, though RSI levels suggest potential overbought conditions. Revenue growth has accelerated from $617M in 2024 to $727M in 2025, with the company achieving its first profitable year with $1.23M net income after several years of losses.
Appian demonstrates improving fundamentals with consistent revenue growth and recent profitability, though negative equity and high debt levels present risks. Analyst sentiment is mixed with 31.58% buy ratings but a consensus price target of $32.50 below current levels. The AI-driven workflow platform shows strong enterprise adoption, but investors should weigh growth potential against valuation concerns and competitive pressures in the low-code automation space.
ULTA stock trades at $565.15, up 4.89% in the last session, with a bullish technical outlook supported by moving averages and strong support at $547. The company reported Q1 2026 EPS of $7.74, beating estimates, but faces margin compression with net income margin declining to 10.63% in 2025. Recent news highlights the end of its Target partnership as a potential growth opportunity, per BofA analysis on July 29, 2026.
The stock offers upside to the consensus price target of $618.29, with 57% of analysts rating it a buy, but risks include competitive pressures and volatile cash flows, with net cash flow turning negative in 2025. Investors should weigh robust ROE of 47.45% against elevated P/B of 9.41 and RSI levels suggesting overbought conditions.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Appian Corp provides a low-code software development platform as a service that enables organizations to rapidly develop powerful and unique applications. With its platform, organizations can rapidly and easily design, build and implement powerful, enterprise-grade custom applications through intuitive, visual interface with little or no coding required. The company's customers use applications built on its low-code platform to launch new business lines, automate vital employee workflows, manage complex trading platforms, accelerate drug development and build procurement systems. The group generates a majority of its revenue from the domestic market. It serves various industries such as education.
Read more on APPN →With more than 1,300 stores and a partnership with Target, Ulta Beauty is the largest specialized beauty retailer in the U.S. The firm offers makeup (43% of 2021 sales), fragrances, skin care, and hair care products (20% of 2021 sales), and bath and body items. Ulta offers private-label products and merchandise from more than 500 vendors. It also offers salon services, including hair, makeup, skin, and brow services, in all stores. Most Ulta stores are approximately 10,000 square feet and are in suburban strip centers. Ulta was founded in 1990 and is based in Bolingbrook, Illinois.
Read more on ULTA →