Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Sell

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Zacks Research upgraded Honest from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley set a $3.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $3.00 target price on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.00.

Honest Price Performance

Honest stock opened at $2.82 on Friday. Honest has a one year low of $2.07 and a one year high of $5.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $2.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $2.89. The company has a market capitalization of $317.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.14 and a beta of 2.16.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $88.04 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.57 million. Honest had a positive return on equity of 4.57% and a negative net margin of 4.22%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Honest will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Honest announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Honest

In other Honest news, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 12,725 shares of Honest stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $36,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 455,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,297,864.35. The trade was a 2.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 22,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $64,284.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 725,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,165.20. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 191,894 shares of company stock worth $546,898. Insiders own 8.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Honest by 1,392.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 6,599 shares during the period. Equity Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Honest during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of Honest during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Honest during the second quarter valued at about $61,000. Institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Honest Company Profile

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.