Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. B. Riley Financial reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Friday, January 16th. Lake Street Capital cut Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $3.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $3.00 price target on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Honest from $4.25 to $3.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $3.00.

Honest Stock Up 20.8%

NASDAQ HNST opened at $2.79 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $2.47 and its 200 day moving average is $3.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $311.89 million, a PE ratio of -19.93 and a beta of 2.30. Honest has a twelve month low of $2.07 and a twelve month high of $5.62.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.23). The business had revenue of $88.04 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.57 million. Honest had a negative net margin of 4.22% and a positive return on equity of 4.47%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Honest will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Honest declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in HNST. Mak Capital One LLC bought a new stake in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,104,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Honest by 796.2% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,006,646 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,742 shares during the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Honest by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 6,928,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,495,000 after purchasing an additional 710,651 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 increased its holdings in shares of Honest by 77.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,014,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,619,000 after purchasing an additional 442,542 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

More Honest News

Here are the key news stories impacting Honest this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a $25.0 million share buyback (up to ~9.9% of shares), which investors often see as management signaling the stock is undervalued and that there will be buy-side support for the float. RTT News
• Positive Sentiment: Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating with a $3.00 price target, offering a modest analyst-backed upside view versus current levels. Analyst Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Company released Q4 and full‑year 2025 results and held an earnings call; the transcript provides management commentary that investors will parse for underlying trends and margin/cost dynamics. Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets published earnings snapshots and call highlights summarizing operational context — useful for gauging whether the beat/miss was driven by one-time items or recurring trends. Q4 Snapshot
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 EPS missed by $0.23 (reported ($0.21) vs. $0.02 expected) and revenue was slightly below consensus at $88.04M vs. $88.57M; an EPS miss tends to pressure sentiment and valuation multiples. Press Release / Slides
• Negative Sentiment: Management updated FY2026 guidance with revenue of $306.0M–$312.0M, well below the consensus (~$340.2M), which is a significant headwind for forward estimates and likely drove some sell-side caution. Full Results / Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the buyback, the company’s near-term profitability is under pressure (negative margins in recent reporting and lowered top-line outlook), meaning sustained upside will depend on execution against guidance and margin recovery. Market Coverage

About Honest

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.