Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after B. Riley raised their price target on the stock from $6.50 to $7.00. The stock had previously closed at $6.01, but opened at $6.76. B. Riley currently has a buy rating on the stock. Honest shares last traded at $6.66, with a volume of 1,573,127 shares traded.

HNST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Northland Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Honest from $6.50 to $7.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Honest from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Alliance Global Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Honest from $5.75 to $8.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Northland Capmk raised shares of Honest to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $5.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Honest news, EVP Stephen Winchell sold 6,938 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.28, for a total value of $29,694.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 414,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,775,070.08. The trade was a 1.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 52,751 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.28, for a total transaction of $225,774.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,828,319 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,105,205.32. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,461,187 shares of company stock valued at $8,739,880. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Honest during the first quarter worth about $27,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in Honest during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Honest during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Honest during the second quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Honest during the first quarter worth about $52,000. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Honest Stock Up 8.2 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $650.52 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -166.50 and a beta of 1.85. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $3.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.47.

Honest Company Profile

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.