The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Short Interest Down 10.2% in March

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,150,000 shares, a decline of 10.2% from the March 15th total of 1,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 977,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling at Honest

In other Honest news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 21,152 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.24, for a total transaction of $68,532.48. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now owns 534,620 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,732,168.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Carla Vernon sold 209,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.16, for a total transaction of $870,105.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,924,387 shares in the company, valued at $12,165,449.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 21,152 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.24, for a total transaction of $68,532.48. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 534,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,732,168.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 273,301 shares of company stock worth $1,077,922. 26.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in Honest in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in Honest in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. LPL Financial LLC purchased a new position in Honest in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of Honest by 37.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 19,383 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 5,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Honest during the 1st quarter worth approximately $61,000. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Honest from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Honest from $1.85 to $4.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Alliance Global Partners started coverage on shares of Honest in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $5.75 price objective on the stock. Lake Street Capital started coverage on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $4.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.95.

Honest Stock Performance

HNST stock traded down $0.08 on Wednesday, reaching $3.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 133,803 shares, compared to its average volume of 963,292. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.69. Honest has a 12-month low of $1.06 and a 12-month high of $4.89.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 6th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.09. The company had revenue of $90.26 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $83.54 million. Honest had a negative return on equity of 30.36% and a negative net margin of 11.39%. As a group, research analysts expect that Honest will post -0.18 earnings per share 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.