The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Short Interest Up 21.6% in February

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HNST has been the topic of a number of research reports. Loop Capital lowered shares of Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Northland Securities boosted their price target on shares of Honest from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.42.

Honest Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of HNST stock traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, reaching $5.08. The stock had a trading volume of 590,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,615,404. Honest has a 12 month low of $2.40 and a 12 month high of $8.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $552.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -126.88 and a beta of 2.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $5.84 and its two-hundred day 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.01. Honest had a negative return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. The firm had revenue of $99.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.46 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Honest will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Honest by 61.3% during the 4th quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 130,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,000 after buying an additional 49,673 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Honest by 216.0% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 545,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,947,000 after buying an additional 372,749 shares in the last quarter. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Honest during the 3rd quarter worth $260,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Honest in the fourth quarter worth $819,000. Finally, ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC raised its stake in Honest by 6.4% in the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 3,163,968 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,295,000 after purchasing an additional 191,547 shares in the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.