Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Northland Capmk

Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday morning, Zacks.com reports. Northland Capmk also issued estimates for Honest’s Q2 2024 earnings at ($0.03) EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at ($0.03) EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at ($0.01) EPS, FY2024 earnings at ($0.08) EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at ($0.03) EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at ($0.01) EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at ($0.01) EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $0.00 EPS and FY2025 earnings at ($0.05) EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Honest from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $3.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a market perform rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of Honest in a report on Tuesday. They set an outperform rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Two equities 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $4.79.

Honest Stock Performance

HNST stock traded up $0.44 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $3.68. The company had a trading volume of 4,289,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,098,202. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $3.24. The company has a market cap of $362.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -16.00 and a beta of 1.86. Honest has a twelve month low of $1.06 and a twelve month high of $4.89.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.07. Honest had a negative net margin of 6.27% and a negative return on equity of 17.44%. The company had revenue of $86.22 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $83.79 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Honest will post -0.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Thomas Sternweis sold 10,047 shares of the business’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 $27,830.19. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 237,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $657,074.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, SVP Thomas Sternweis sold 10,047 shares of the business’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 $27,830.19. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 237,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $657,074.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 43,317 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.77, for a total transaction 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 $7,980,563.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 137,160 shares of company stock valued at $379,933. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Honest

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Honest in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,777,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Honest by 973.4% in the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 430,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,742,000 after purchasing an additional 390,022 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in Honest in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Honest in the first quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Honest by 57.4% during the first quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 36,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after acquiring an additional 13,130 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.