Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $3.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Honest from $5.50 to $4.25 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 15th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of Honest from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered Honest from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 25th. Finally, B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $5.96.

Honest Stock Up 14.2%

Shares of NASDAQ HNST opened at $2.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $295.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.33 and a beta of 2.28. Honest has a 52-week low of $2.31 and a 52-week high of $8.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $3.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.33.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.02. Honest had a return on equity of 3.92% and a net margin of 1.85%.The business had revenue of $92.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $99.43 million. Honest has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts anticipate that Honest will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Carla Vernon sold 99,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total transaction of $362,547.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 2,998,993 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,946,324.45. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 12,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total transaction of $44,015.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 568,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,075,346.20. This represents a 2.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 131,890 shares of company stock valued at $481,399 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HNST. Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Honest in the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Honest by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 3,365 shares during the last quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Honest by 45.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 17,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its position in Honest by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 27,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,000 after buying an additional 3,985 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in Honest by 61.6% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 123,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,000 after buying an additional 46,914 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.