Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) CEO Carla Vernon Sells 117,893 Shares

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) CEO Carla Vernon sold 117,893 shares of Honest stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.99, for a total transaction of $588,286.07. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,828,558 shares in the company, valued at $19,104,504.42. The trade was a 2.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Honest Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of HNST stock opened at $5.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.12 and a 200-day moving average of $3.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $572.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -47.27 and a beta of 2.12. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.07 and a 12-month high of $5.84.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01 by $0.03. Honest had a positive return on equity of 4.31% and a negative net margin of 3.56%.The firm had revenue of $80.19 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.83 million. Research analysts expect that The Honest Company, Inc. will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HNST. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen raised Honest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. B. Riley Financial raised their price target on shares of Honest from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Honest from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.84.

Trending Headlines about Honest

Here are the key news stories impacting Honest this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: The sales were conducted through scheduled trading plans rather than appearing to reflect an immediate change in management’s view of the business. The executives also retained substantial positions, including CEO Carla Vernon’s approximately 3.83 million shares after her transaction. SEC insider-trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: Seven reported transactions involved approximately 150,854 shares sold for a combined value of about $752,853 at prices near $4.99 to $5.01. CEO Carla Vernon accounted for the largest sale—117,893 shares worth approximately $588,286—while other sellers included senior executives, the general counsel and board-level insiders. The concentration of selling by several insiders could weigh on sentiment, particularly as HNST trades well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and near its 52-week high. SEC insider-trading filings

Institutional Trading of Honest

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HNST. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Honest by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $235,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Honest by 16.4% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,936,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,103,000 after purchasing an additional 272,765 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in Honest by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,064,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,002,000 after purchasing an additional 163,380 shares during the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Honest by 183.2% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 64,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $331,000 after purchasing an additional 42,008 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Honest by 18.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 134,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $686,000 after purchasing an additional 20,603 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

About Honest

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.