Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) CEO Sells $374,881.46 in Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) CEO Carla Vernon sold 119,389 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 value of $374,881.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,946,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,391,856.14. This trade represents a 2.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Carla Vernon also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 5th, Carla Vernon sold 129,335 shares of Honest stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $368,604.75.

Honest Stock Performance

Honest stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $3.41. The stock had a trading volume of 1,777,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,839,630. The Honest Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.07 and a fifty-two week high of $5.28. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $3.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $375.37 million, a PE ratio of -20.06 and a beta of 2.15.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01. Honest had a positive return on equity of 3.52% and a negative net margin of 5.39%.The firm had revenue of $78.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.25 million. On average, research analysts forecast that The Honest Company, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Honest announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HNST. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in shares of Honest by 1,392.2% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 6,599 shares during the last quarter. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Equity Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

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.