The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• The Honest Company has received an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" from six analysts, with three holding a neutral position and three recommending a buy.
• Recent earnings showed Honest reporting $0.03 earnings per share, which was below analysts' expectations of $0.05, though revenue exceeded estimates at $93.46 million.
• Insider trading activity included sales totaling approximately $89,000 for two insiders, indicating a 1.75% decrease in their stock ownership post-sale.

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.9583.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HNST. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Honest from $5.50 to $4.25 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on Honest from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th.

Honest Price Performance

HNST opened at $3.83 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $4.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.96. Honest has a 1 year low of $3.32 and a 1 year high of $8.97. The firm has a market cap of $426.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.62 and a beta of 2.34.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). The business 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Honest will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Honest news, insider Dorria L. Ball sold 4,836 shares of the company'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 $25,727.52. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 272,247 shares in the company, valued at $1,448,354.04. This represents a 1.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 12,017 shares of the 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 $63,930.44. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 580,647 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,089,042.04. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 165,726 shares of company stock valued at $881,662 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Honest

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Honest in the 2nd quarter worth $106,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Honest by 152.2% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 82,217 shares of the company's stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 49,614 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Honest by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 175,429 shares of the company's stock worth $893,000 after purchasing an additional 29,657 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Honest by 187.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 542,269 shares of the company's stock worth $2,760,000 after purchasing an additional 353,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in Honest in the 2nd quarter worth $1,088,000. 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.