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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HNST has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Northland Securities assumed coverage on shares of Honest in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $6.00 target price for the company. Loop Capital raised Honest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Northland Capmk upgraded shares of Honest to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, B. Riley started coverage on shares of Honest in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set a “buy” rating and a $6.50 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $5.04.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Honest news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 8,176 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the general counsel now 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Shared Abacus Lp Thc sold 2,300,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 8,176 shares of Honest stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,216,445.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,531,187 shares of company stock worth $9,018,480 over the last three months. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Honest by 24.4% in the 2nd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 63,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 12,437 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new position in Honest in the 2nd quarter worth about $94,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C increased its stake in shares of Honest by 37.8% in the second quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C now owns 150,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 41,222 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. bought a new stake in shares of Honest during the second quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its position in shares of Honest by 6.4% during the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 137,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Honest Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HNST traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $3.49. 607,813 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,120,818. Honest has a twelve month low of $1.06 and a twelve month high of $4.89. The company has a market cap of $344.25 million, a PE ratio of -15.17 and a beta of 1.90. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $3.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.42.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.04). The business had revenue of $93.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.14) earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Honest will post -0.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.