Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) by 18.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,006,875 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 155,439 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned approximately 1.00% of Honest worth $6,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Honest by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,147,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,305 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its position in Honest by 589.7% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,397,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,616,000 after purchasing an additional 2,049,981 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Honest by 20.2% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,372,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,439,000 after purchasing an additional 398,603 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Honest by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,826,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,658,000 after purchasing an additional 14,539 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Honest by 869.9% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,546,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386,961 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Honest Stock Performance

HNST stock opened at $5.13 on Wednesday. The Honest Company, Inc. has a one year low of $2.40 and a one year high of $8.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $565.52 million, a PE ratio of -128.25 and a beta of 2.43. The company has a fifty day moving average of $4.73 and a 200-day moving average of $5.77.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Honest had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 3.26%. The company had revenue of $97.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $92.46 million. Equities analysts forecast that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Honest

In related news, insider Stephen Winchell sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total value of $99,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 431,844 shares in the company, valued at $2,150,583.12. This trade represents a 4.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 37,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total transaction of $182,532.47. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 307,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,498,693.80. This trade represents a 10.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $7.70.

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.