Telsey Advisory Group Reiterates "Market Perform" Rating for Honest (NASDAQ:HNST)

Key Points

• Telsey Advisory Group has reaffirmed its "Market Perform" rating for Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) with a target price of $7.00, indicating a potential upside of 48.31% from the stock's previous close.
• Honest's shares are currently trading at $4.72, with a 1-year low of $2.99 and a high of $8.97 while the firm has reported a negative net margin and negative return on equity.
• Recent insider transactions included CEO Carla Vernon selling 98,950 shares at an average price of $5.32, reflecting a 3.09% decrease in her ownership of the stock.

Telsey Advisory Group reissued their market perform rating on shares of Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Telsey Advisory Group currently has a $7.00 price target on the stock.

Honest Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:HNST traded down $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $4.48. 2,767,935 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,808,593. The company has a market cap of $493.88 million, a PE ratio of -224.00 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $4.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $5.10. Honest has a 12-month low of $2.99 and a 12-month high of $8.97.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $97.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $92.46 million. Honest had a negative return on equity of 0.95% and a negative net margin of 0.38%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Honest will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Honest

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

Institutional Trading of Honest

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Honest by 589.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 2,049,981 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Honest by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,147,369 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,671,000 after buying an additional 1,052,305 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $932,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Honest by 27.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,396,615 shares of the company's stock worth $9,678,000 after acquiring an additional 299,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Honest by 103.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,046,868 shares of the company's stock worth $14,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,040 shares during the period. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.