diff --git a/packages/devkit/src/executors/parse-target-string.spec.ts b/packages/devkit/src/executors/parse-target-string.spec.ts
index 3ce6fd0b48182..dc8193a0eb6e7 100644
--- a/packages/devkit/src/executors/parse-target-string.spec.ts
+++ b/packages/devkit/src/executors/parse-target-string.spec.ts
@@ -62,6 +62,27 @@ describe('parseTargetString', () => {
       target: 'build',
     });
   });
+
+  // When running a converted executor, its possible that the context has a project name that
+  // isn't present within the project graph. In these cases, this function should still behave predictably.
+  it('should produce accurate results if the project graph doesnt contain the project', () => {
+    expect(
+      parseTargetString('foo:build', { ...mockContext, projectName: 'foo' })
+    ).toEqual({
+      project: 'foo',
+      target: 'build',
+    });
+    expect(
+      parseTargetString('foo:build:production', {
+        ...mockContext,
+        projectName: 'foo',
+      })
+    ).toEqual({
+      project: 'foo',
+      target: 'build',
+      configuration: 'production',
+    });
+  });
 });
 
 describe('targetToTargetString', () => {
diff --git a/packages/devkit/src/executors/parse-target-string.ts b/packages/devkit/src/executors/parse-target-string.ts
index 44c0955dd7790..ff63c393485c6 100644
--- a/packages/devkit/src/executors/parse-target-string.ts
+++ b/packages/devkit/src/executors/parse-target-string.ts
@@ -66,7 +66,8 @@ export function parseTargetString(
   if (
     !projectGraph.nodes[maybeProject] &&
     projectGraphOrCtx &&
-    'projectName' in projectGraphOrCtx
+    'projectName' in projectGraphOrCtx &&
+    maybeProject !== projectGraphOrCtx.projectName
   ) {
     targetString = `${projectGraphOrCtx.projectName}:${targetString}`;
   }