Short Interest in The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Declines By 5.1%

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,430,000 shares, a drop of 5.1% from the August 15th total of 2,560,000 shares. Currently, 3.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,440,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Activity at Honest

In other Honest news, EVP Stephen Winchell sold 6,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.28, for a total transaction of $29,694.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 414,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,775,070.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, EVP Stephen Winchell sold 6,938 shares of Honest stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.28, for a total value of $29,694.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 414,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,775,070.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO David Loretta sold 75,656 shares of the company’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 $323,807.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 987,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,227,599.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 231,187 shares of company stock worth $968,480 in the last quarter. 8.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Honest

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HNST. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Honest in the 4th quarter worth approximately $120,000. Green Alpha Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Honest by 1.3% in the first quarter. Green Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 415,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,681,000 after buying an additional 5,249 shares during the last quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Honest during the 1st quarter worth $122,000. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Honest in the 1st quarter valued at $161,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Honest in the 1st quarter worth $93,000. Institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Honest Stock Performance

Shares of HNST opened at $3.84 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $378.77 million, a PE ratio of -16.70 and a beta of 1.90. Honest has a twelve month low of $1.06 and a twelve month high of $4.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.44.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The business had revenue of $93.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.14) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Honest will post -0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HNST has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. B. Riley assumed coverage on Honest in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.50 price target on the stock. Loop Capital upgraded Honest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Northland Securities assumed 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. Finally, Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Honest to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $5.04.

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.