Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Insider Sells $40,462.04 in Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) insider Stephen Winchell sold 12,886 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.14, for a total transaction of $40,462.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 483,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,517,540.02. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Honest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HNST traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,777,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,839,630. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.78. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $2.07 and a 12 month high of $5.28. The firm has a market cap of $375.37 million, a P/E ratio of -20.06 and a beta of 2.15.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.01. The business had revenue of $78.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.25 million. Honest had a negative net margin of 5.39% and a positive return on equity of 3.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Honest Company, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Honest declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Portolan Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Honest by 11.4% in the third quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 6,928,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,495,000 after acquiring an additional 710,651 shares during the last quarter. Mak Capital One LLC bought a new position in shares of Honest in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,104,000. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Honest by 5.3% in the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 2,999,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,038,000 after acquiring an additional 151,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Honest by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,323,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,996,000 after acquiring an additional 28,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Honest by 8.2% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,259,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,315,000 after acquiring an additional 171,425 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on HNST shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Honest from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $3.40 price target on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Honest from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Alliance Global Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $4.00 price target on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Honest presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.47.

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.