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

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 price target reduced by stock analysts at 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 target price suggests a potential upside of 7.87% from the company's previous close.

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

Honest Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of HNST opened at $3.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $438.40 million, a PE ratio of 78.82 and a beta of 2.34. Honest has a 12-month low of $3.32 and a 12-month high of $8.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $4.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $4.97.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). Honest had a return on equity of 3.84% and a net margin of 1.66%. The business had revenue of $93.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.18 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Honest will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO David Loretta sold 34,389 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total transaction of $182,949.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 883,153 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,698,373.96. This trade represents a 3.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Dorria L. Ball sold 4,836 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total value of $25,727.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 272,247 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,448,354.04. This trade represents a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 165,726 shares of company stock valued at $881,662 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Honest by 6,101.8% in the 1st 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 shares of Honest during the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Honest during the first quarter worth approximately $58,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Honest in the 2nd quarter worth $62,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Honest in the 1st quarter valued at $64,000. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Honest Company Profile

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.

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