Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Shares Up 9% – Still a Buy?

Shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) traded up 9% on Monday. The company traded as high as $4.50 and last traded at $4.5450. Approximately 472,632 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 1,876,541 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HNST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Honest from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Northland Securities set a $5.50 target price on Honest in a report on Thursday, August 6th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on shares of Honest from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Honest from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Honest currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.84.

Honest Trading Up 4.4%

The business’s 50-day moving average is $5.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $479.40 million, a PE ratio of -39.59 and a beta of 2.48.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. Honest had a negative net margin of 3.56% and a positive return on equity of 4.31%. The business had revenue of $80.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.83 million. On average, analysts predict that The Honest Company, Inc. will post 0.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrea Turner sold 29,899 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.21, for a total value of $155,773.79. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 252,405 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,315,030.05. This trade represents a 10.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Dorria L. Ball sold 6,812 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.99, for a total value of $33,991.88. Following the transaction, the insider owned 418,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,088,734.16. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 294,149 shares of company stock worth $1,503,306. Corporate insiders own 9.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Honest by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 44,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $227,000 after acquiring an additional 4,020 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming raised its stake in Honest by 488.4% in the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 120,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $620,000 after purchasing an additional 100,241 shares in the last quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Honest in the third quarter valued at about $196,000. Green Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Honest by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 387,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,990,000 after purchasing an additional 89,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in Honest by 45.8% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 7,038 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

About Honest

The Honest Company, Inc is a consumer products company that develops and sells personal care, beauty, baby, and household products. Its offerings include diapers, wipes, baby care items, skin care, hair care, personal care products, and household cleaning solutions, with an emphasis on ingredient transparency and products positioned as safer and more sustainable alternatives.

Founded in 2011 by actress and entrepreneur Jessica Alba, Honest sells its products through its website and retail partners.