Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Earns "Hold (C-)" Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Honest has received a "Hold (C-)" rating from Weiss Ratings, indicating cautious sentiment among analysts regarding its stock performance.
• Morgan Stanley has revised its price target for Honest from $5.50 to $4.25, while Zacks Research upgraded its rating to "strong-buy," reflecting mixed analyst views.
• Insider sales occurred recently, with CEO Carla Vernon selling over 99,000 shares at an average price of $3.65, indicating a decrease in their ownership stakes.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c-)" rating reiterated by equities researchers at Weiss Ratings in a report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

HNST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Honest from $5.50 to $4.25 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Zacks Research raised Honest from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on Honest from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Honest currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $6.96.

Honest Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NASDAQ HNST opened at $3.88 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.50. Honest has a 1-year low of $3.32 and a 1-year high of $8.97. The firm has a market cap of $431.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.62 and a beta of 2.29.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). Honest had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.84%. The firm had revenue of $93.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.18 million. Analysts forecast that Honest will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Honest

In related news, insider Stephen Winchell sold 10,841 shares of Honest stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total transaction of $39,569.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 410,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,497,438.05. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 99,328 shares of Honest stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total value of $362,547.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,998,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,946,324.45. This represents a 3.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 131,890 shares of company stock valued at $481,399. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HNST. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its stake in Honest by 6,101.8% during the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 6,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 6,712 shares during the period. Strategic Blueprint LLC bought a new stake in Honest during the second quarter valued at $52,000. DRW Securities LLC bought a new stake in Honest during the first quarter valued at $58,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Honest during the second quarter valued at about $61,000. Finally, Ethos Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Honest during the second quarter valued at about $62,000. Institutional investors own 45.54% of the company's stock.

About Honest

The Honest Company, Inc manufactures and sells diapers and wipes, skin and personal care, and household and wellness products. The company also offers baby clothing and nursery bedding products. It sells its products through digital and retail sales channels, such as its website and third-party ecommerce sites, as well as brick and mortar retailers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.