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

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) shares passed 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 equities research analysts also recently issued reports on HNST. Weiss Ratings downgraded Honest from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Honest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Freedom Capital upgraded Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Northland Securities set a $5.50 price objective on Honest in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently 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 Honest stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.99, for a total value of $30,743.39. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 363,994 shares in the company, valued at $1,816,330.06. The trade was a 1.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 9,664 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.99, for a total transaction of $48,223.36. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 706,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,524,057.76. The trade was a 1.35% 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 sold a total of 150,854 shares of company stock valued at $752,853 over the last three months. 9.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Honest in the second quarter worth about $25,662,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC boosted its position in Honest by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 520,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,672,000 after acquiring an additional 2,439 shares in the last quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Honest by 30.1% during the 3rd quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 387,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,990,000 after acquiring an additional 89,720 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $715,000. Finally, State of Wyoming grew its holdings in shares of Honest by 488.4% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 120,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $620,000 after acquiring an additional 100,241 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Honest Trading Down 1.9%

The stock has a market cap of $556.31 million, a PE ratio of 7.39 and a beta of 2.48. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $5.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.86.

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

About Honest

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.