Morgan Stanley Cuts Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Price Target to $4.25

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has lowered its price target for Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) from $5.50 to $4.25, maintaining an "equal weight" rating, which implies a 7.87% potential upside from the recent close.
• Telsey Advisory Group also reduced its target price from $7.00 to $6.00, while the consensus rating for the stock remains a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $6.96.
• Insider trading activity has seen CFO David Loretta sell 34,389 shares, representing a 3.75% decrease in ownership, while institutional investors currently hold 45.54% of the company's stock.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by Morgan Stanley from $5.50 to $4.25 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "equal weight" rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley's price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.28% from the company's current price.

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on Honest from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $6.96.

Honest Stock Down 3.1%

NASDAQ:HNST traded down $0.1150 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.6550. 2,472,976 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,847,097. The stock has a market capitalization of $406.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.11 and a beta of 2.34. Honest has a 52 week low of $3.32 and a 52 week high of $8.97. The firm's 50 day moving average is $4.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.91.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Honest by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,208,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,481,000 after purchasing an additional 61,299 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Honest by 98.8% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,073,471 shares of the company's stock worth $14,445,000 after buying an additional 1,527,080 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Honest by 589.7% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,397,636 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,616,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049,981 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest in the 1st quarter valued at $10,554,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Honest by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,068,945 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,532,000 after acquiring an additional 196,218 shares during the period. 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.