Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Research Coverage Started at Northland Securities

Northland Securities started coverage on shares of Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) in a research note published on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on HNST. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a market perform rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Honest from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $3.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $4.79.

Honest Stock Up 13.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:HNST traded up $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.68. 4,289,711 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,098,202. Honest has a fifty-two week low of $1.06 and a fifty-two week high of $4.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.24. The firm has a market cap of $362.99 million, a PE ratio of -16.00 and a beta of 1.86.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.07. The company had revenue of $86.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $83.79 million. Honest had a negative return on equity of 17.44% and a negative net margin of 6.27%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Honest will post -0.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Honest news, CEO Carla Vernon sold 43,317 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.77, for a total value of $119,988.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,881,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,980,563.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Katherine Barton sold 67,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.77, for a total value of $188,166.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 933,005 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,584,423.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 43,317 shares of Honest stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.77, for a total transaction of $119,988.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 2,881,070 shares in the company, valued at $7,980,563.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,160 shares of company stock worth $379,933 over the last three months. Insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Honest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Honest by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,851,501 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,549,000 after buying an additional 268,600 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Honest by 117.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,568,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,579,000 after acquiring an additional 846,300 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Honest by 68.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 943,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,755,000 after acquiring an additional 382,418 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Honest in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,777,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Honest by 706.1% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 716,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,088,000 after purchasing an additional 627,464 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

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.