The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $6.93.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on HNST. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Alliance Global Partners raised their price objective on Honest from $5.75 to $8.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Honest from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Northland Securities raised their target price on Honest from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, B. Riley upped their price target on Honest from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Honest Stock Performance

HNST opened at $6.04 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $609.80 million, a PE ratio of -151.00 and a beta of 2.45. Honest has a 1 year low of $2.40 and a 1 year high of $8.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $7.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 92,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.13, for a total value of $749,081.94. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 516,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,201,714.08. This represents a 15.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 65,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.10, for a total transaction of $462,749.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,763,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,618,315.30. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 799,818 shares of company stock worth $5,975,421. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Honest by 41.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 111,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 32,586 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Honest by 68.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 943,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,755,000 after acquiring an additional 382,418 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. bought a new position in Honest in the second quarter worth about $218,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Honest in the second quarter valued at approximately $94,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Honest by 24.4% during the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 63,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,000 after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by 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.