Short Interest in The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Expands By 37.2%

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) saw a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,540,000 shares, an increase of 37.2% from the December 31st total of 2,580,000 shares. Currently, 4.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HNST shares. Northland Securities increased their target price on Honest from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. B. Riley boosted their target price on shares of Honest from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Honest from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Alliance Global Partners boosted their price objective on Honest from $5.75 to $8.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Loop Capital downgraded Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Honest news, Director Jessica Warren sold 465,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.55, for a total value of $3,510,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,170,058 shares in the company, valued at $8,833,937.90. The trade was a 28.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 65,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.10, for a total value of $462,749.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 2,763,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,618,315.30. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 799,818 shares of company stock worth $5,975,421 over the last quarter. 8.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Honest

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in Honest by 41.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 111,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 32,586 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Honest by 68.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 943,618 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,755,000 after acquiring an additional 382,418 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in Honest in the 2nd quarter valued at about $218,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Honest during the 2nd quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its position in Honest by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 63,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Honest Stock Down 0.2 %

HNST opened at $6.28 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $7.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $5.09. Honest has a fifty-two week low of $2.40 and a fifty-two week high of $8.97. The firm has a market cap of $634.03 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -157.00 and a beta of 2.45.

About Honest

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.