The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $4.38.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. B. Riley Financial boosted their price target on Honest from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Alliance Global Partners reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday. Northland Securities set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $3.40 target price on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, May 7th.

Insider Activity at Honest

In related news, insider Stephen Winchell sold 12,886 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.14, for a total transaction of $40,462.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 483,293 shares in the company, valued at $1,517,540.02. This trade represents a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 119,389 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.14, for a total value of $374,881.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,946,451 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,391,856.14. The trade was a 2.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 175,058 shares of company stock valued at $550,591. 9.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Honest

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HNST. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Honest during the second quarter worth $25,662,000. Mak Capital One LLC acquired a new position in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at $9,104,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Honest by 796.2% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,006,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,742 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Honest by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,520,331 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,922,000 after purchasing an additional 627,537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in Honest by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,014,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,619,000 after buying an additional 442,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Honest Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ HNST opened at $5.46 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $3.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $3.19. Honest has a 52 week low of $2.07 and a 52 week high of $5.84. The stock has a market cap of $601.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -49.64 and a beta of 2.12.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. Honest had a positive return on equity of 4.26% and a negative net margin of 3.56%.The company had revenue of $80.19 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.83 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Honest will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Key Headlines Impacting Honest

Here are the key news stories impacting Honest this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 results beat expectations: Honest reported adjusted earnings of $0.04 per share, ahead of estimates ranging from $0.01 to $0.02 and up from $0.03 a year earlier. Revenue reached $80.19 million versus the $77.83 million consensus estimate. Honest Q2 Earnings and Revenues Beat Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Raised 2026 outlook: Management increased its fiscal-year 2026 forecast to $319 million-$325 million in revenue and $23 million-$25 million in adjusted EBITDA, signaling confidence in profitability and operating execution. Honest Outlines Raised FY2026 Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst earnings estimates increased: Northland Securities raised its Q3 and Q4 2026 EPS forecasts to $0.03 from $0.02, while maintaining a $0.10 full-year consensus estimate. Honest analyst estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Strategic changes are showing progress: An analysis argues that Honest’s strategic exits are beginning to improve the business, but investors may need further evidence that the gains can be sustained. The Honest Company: Strategic Exits Are Starting To Work
• Negative Sentiment: Execution concerns remain: Another assessment says Honest is still awaiting more consistent improvements, highlighting the risk that recent operating gains may not yet represent a durable turnaround. The Honest Company – Awaiting More Consistent Improvements
• Neutral Sentiment: B. Riley raised its price target to $5 from $4 and retained a “Buy” rating, although the new target is below the recent trading level, limiting its immediate upside implication.

Honest Company Profile

The Honest Company, Inc (NASDAQ: HNST) is an American consumer goods firm specializing in eco-friendly and responsibly formulated products for babies, personal care, beauty and home cleaning. The company emphasizes transparency in ingredient sourcing and product safety, positioning itself in the premium segment of mass-market retail and direct-to-consumer channels.

Honest was founded in 2011 by actress Jessica Alba and environmental health advocate Christopher Gavigan with a mission to offer parents household and baby care items free from harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances.