The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,750,000 shares, an increase of 21.6% from the February 13th total of 4,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,780,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 6.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Honest Stock Up 1.3 %

Honest stock traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $5.08. 590,514 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,615,404. The firm has a market capitalization of $552.72 million, a PE ratio of -126.88 and a beta of 2.45. Honest has a twelve month low of $2.40 and a twelve month high of $8.97. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $5.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.52.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $99.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.46 million. Honest had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 3.26%. Analysts anticipate that Honest will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Honest

In related news, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 37,481 shares of Honest stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total transaction of $182,532.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 307,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,498,693.80. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Winchell sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total transaction of $99,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 431,844 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,150,583.12. This represents a 4.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Honest during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in shares of Honest during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Honest during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Utah Retirement Systems purchased a new stake in Honest in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in Honest during the 4th quarter valued at $89,000. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on HNST shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Loop Capital lowered shares of 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. Finally, Northland Securities raised their price target on shares of Honest from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 $7.42.

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.