Short Interest in The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Declines By 10.7%

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,170,000 shares, a drop of 10.7% from the August 31st total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,530,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days. Approximately 3.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Honest news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 8,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.28, for a total transaction of $34,993.28. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 517,861 shares in the company, valued at $2,216,445.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, major shareholder Shared Abacus Lp Thc sold 2,300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.50, for a total transaction of $8,050,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,869,803 shares in the company, valued at $34,544,310.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 8,176 shares of Honest stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.28, for a total value of $34,993.28. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 517,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,216,445.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 2,531,187 shares of company stock valued at $9,018,480. Insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Honest in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Honest during the 1st quarter valued at about $52,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Honest during the first quarter valued at about $93,000. Finally, Cannon Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Honest in the 1st quarter worth approximately $122,000. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Northland Securities initiated coverage on shares of Honest in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $6.00 price target for the company. Northland Capmk raised shares of Honest to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, B. Riley began coverage on shares of Honest in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.50 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.04.

Honest Price Performance

NASDAQ HNST remained flat at $3.64 during trading on Friday. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 761,409 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,122,377. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $3.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $359.04 million, a PE ratio of -15.83 and a beta of 1.90. Honest has a 1 year low of $1.06 and a 1 year high of $4.89.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.04) EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The company had revenue of $93.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.63 million. Honest had a negative net margin of 3.50% and a negative return on equity of 10.00%. During the same period last year, the firm earned ($0.14) earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Honest will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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.