e.l.f. Beauty (NYSE:ELF) issued a statement on Thursday in response to the short-seller report published by Muddy Waters Research.

The retailer said Muddy Waters’ latest report is an attempt by a noted short seller to negatively impact e.l.f. Beauty’s (NYSE:ELF) share price for its own benefit and at the expense of all other shareholders. Muddy Waters’ allegations were said to be without merit.

"Muddy Waters has made numerous inaccurate statements about e.l.f. Beauty and our business by relying upon incomplete data and flawed assumptions, omitting critical context, and presenting speculation as fact."

"In particular, in early 2024, for competitive reasons and as permitted by applicable regulations, we filed a request for confidentiality with U.S. Customs and Border Protection with respect to our customs import data. Therefore, import data available to the public after February 6, 2024, does not include a substantial majority of our actual U.S. imports."

The company also noted that Muddy Waters’ assertions do not align with the strong consumption data published by Nielsen and Circana.

Shares of ELF traded flat in the premarket session on Thursday, after posting a modest decline of 2.2% on Thursday.