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

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of 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. Currently, 6.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Honest Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HNST traded down $0.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.01. The company had a trading volume of 2,435,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,734. Honest has a fifty-two week low of $2.40 and a fifty-two week high of $8.97. The firm has a market cap of $545.64 million, a P/E ratio of -125.25 and a beta of 2.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $5.52.

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

Insider Activity at Honest

In related news, insider Stephen Winchell sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 431,844 shares in the company, valued at $2,150,583.12. The trade was a 4.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 37,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,498,693.80. This represents 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

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Honest by 589.7% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,397,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,616,000 after buying an additional 2,049,981 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Honest by 869.9% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,546,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,716,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386,961 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Honest by 25.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,147,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052,305 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Honest by 103.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,046,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,185,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,040 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in Honest by 1,504.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 851,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,040,000 after purchasing an additional 798,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Loop Capital cut shares of Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Northland Securities increased 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 set a $7.00 price target on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $7.42.

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.