The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Short Interest Up 21.6% in February

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,750,000 shares, an increase of 21.6% from the February 13th total of 4,730,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,780,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Honest

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

Institutional Trading of Honest

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HNST. Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Honest in the 3rd quarter valued at $569,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Honest by 216.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 545,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,947,000 after purchasing an additional 372,749 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Honest in the 3rd quarter valued at about $103,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Honest by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 225,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $805,000 after buying an additional 7,379 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in shares of Honest by 98.7% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 126,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 62,650 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HNST has been the topic of several recent research reports. Northland Securities lifted their target price on shares of Honest from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $7.42.

Honest Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ HNST opened at $5.05 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $5.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $5.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $550.00 million, a P/E ratio of -126.25 and a beta of 2.45. Honest has a 1-year low of $2.40 and a 1-year high of $8.97.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $99.84 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.46 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Honest will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

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.