The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Given Average Recommendation of “Reduce” by Analysts

Shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the seven brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $3.00.

Several brokerages have commented on HNST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Honest from $4.25 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. B. Riley reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Lake Street Capital cut shares of Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $3.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on Honest from $6.00 to $3.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Carla Vernon sold 97,505 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.60, for a total value of $253,513.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,901,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,543,868.80. This represents a 3.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Winchell sold 10,595 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.60, for a total transaction of $27,547.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 399,662 shares in the company, valued at $1,039,121.20. This trade represents a 2.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Honest

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of Honest during the 1st quarter worth about $3,550,000. Portolan Capital Management LLC grew its position in Honest by 11.4% during the third quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 6,928,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,495,000 after buying an additional 710,651 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Honest by 187.8% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 542,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 353,858 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Honest by 39.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,231,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,531,000 after acquiring an additional 350,860 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Honest by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,936,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,103,000 after acquiring an additional 272,765 shares in the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Honest Price Performance

Honest stock opened at $2.49 on Tuesday. Honest has a one year low of $2.31 and a one year high of $6.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $2.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.52. The company has a market capitalization of $278.36 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.50 and a beta of 2.30.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by $0.02. Honest had a return on equity of 3.86% and a net margin of 1.85%.The company had revenue of $92.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $99.43 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Honest will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

About Honest

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.