Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Honest from a “sell” to a “hold” rating, adding to a mixed analyst picture that currently shows a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.47.
• Honest reported Q1 earnings of $0.01 per share, matching expectations, while revenue of $78.1 million came in above analysts’ estimates of $76.25 million.
• The company also authorized a $25 million share repurchase program, while recent insider activity showed CEO Carla Vernon and another insider selling shares in March.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $3.40 price target on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an "underweight" rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Honest from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $3.47.

Honest Stock Performance

Honest stock opened at $3.64 on Friday. Honest has a 1 year low of $2.07 and a 1 year high of $5.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $3.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.80. The company has a market cap of $408.89 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -21.41 and a beta of 2.15.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.01. The firm had revenue of $78.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $76.25 million. Honest had a negative net margin of 5.39% and a positive return on equity of 3.46%. Sell-side analysts predict that Honest will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Honest declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Honest

In other news, CEO Carla Vernon sold 129,335 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $368,604.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,065,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,586,806.10. The trade was a 3.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Dorria L. Ball sold 15,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $43,032.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 432,295 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,232,040.75. The trade was a 3.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 191,894 shares of company stock valued at $546,898. 9.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Honest by 1,392.2% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,073 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 6,599 shares in the last quarter. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Equity Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Honest in the third quarter valued at $37,000. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Honest Company Profile

The Honest Company, Inc NASDAQ: HNST is an American consumer goods firm specializing in eco-friendly and responsibly formulated products for babies, personal care, beauty and home cleaning. The company emphasizes transparency in ingredient sourcing and product safety, positioning itself in the premium segment of mass-market retail and direct-to-consumer channels.

Honest was founded in 2011 by actress Jessica Alba and environmental health advocate Christopher Gavigan with a mission to offer parents household and baby care items free from harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances.

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