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

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,030,000 shares, an increase of 129.5% from the June 30th total of 1,320,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,120,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Honest news, SVP Thomas Sternweis sold 10,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.77, for a total transaction of $27,830.19. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 237,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $657,074.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Honest news, SVP Thomas Sternweis sold 10,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.77, for a total transaction of $27,830.19. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 237,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $657,074.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 43,317 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.77, for a total value of $119,988.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,881,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,980,563.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,160 shares of company stock valued at $379,933. Insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in Honest during the 2nd quarter worth $695,000. Echo Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Honest by 206.6% during the 2nd quarter. Echo Wealth Management LLC now owns 76,659 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 51,659 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in Honest by 123.5% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 51,194 shares of the company’s stock worth $149,000 after buying an additional 28,290 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Honest by 562.3% during the 2nd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 98,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 83,848 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Honest by 57.4% during the 1st quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 36,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $146,000 after buying an additional 13,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HNST has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital upgraded Honest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $4.00 price target on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on Honest in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $6.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $4.55.

Honest Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of HNST traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $3.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,939,644 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,809,644. Honest has a one year low of $1.06 and a one year high of $4.89. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.20.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.07. The business had revenue of $86.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $83.79 million. Honest had a negative return on equity of 17.44% and a negative net margin of 6.27%. Equities analysts anticipate that Honest will post -0.12 EPS for the current fiscal 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.