Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Stock Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average After Analyst Downgrade

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST)’s share price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $5.11 and traded as high as $5.21. Honest shares last traded at $5.17, with a volume of 3,637,828 shares.

Several other research firms have also commented on HNST. Freedom Capital raised shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Northland Securities set a $5.50 price target on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Freedom Broker cut shares of Honest from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $5.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 6,161 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.99, for a total transaction of $30,743.39. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 363,994 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,816,330.06. This represents a 1.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Carla Vernón sold 117,893 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.99, for a total value of $588,286.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,828,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,104,504.42. This trade represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 150,854 shares of company stock valued at $752,853 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in Honest by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 27,763 shares of the company’s stock worth $142,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Honest by 155.0% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 108,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 66,194 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Honest by 0.5% during the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 520,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,672,000 after buying an additional 2,439 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Honest by 10.0% during the third quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 44,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after buying an additional 4,020 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in shares of Honest by 488.4% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 120,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 100,241 shares during the period. 45.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Honest Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $556.31 million, a PE ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 2.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $5.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.86.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $84.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $80.79 million. Honest had a return on equity of 5.10% and a net margin of 23.47%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Honest Company, Inc. will post 0.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Honest Company Profile

The Honest Company, founded in 2011 by Jessica Alba and entrepreneur Brian Lee, develops consumer products for families with an emphasis on ingredient transparency and thoughtfully designed everyday essentials. The company is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its products include disposable diapers and wipes, baby and personal-care items, and household cleaning products. Honest sells through its website and retail partners, serving customers primarily in the United States and Canada. Carla Vernón became the company’s chief executive officer in 2023.