Curtiss James Bruce III Sells 3,129 Shares of Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) insider Curtiss James Bruce III sold 3,129 shares of Honest stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.99, for a total transaction of $15,613.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 582,986 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,909,100.14. This represents a 0.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Honest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:HNST traded up $0.15 on Monday, reaching $5.20. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,778,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,883,129. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $4.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.37. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.07 and a 52-week high of $5.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $572.41 million, a P/E ratio of -47.27 and a beta of 2.12.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. Honest had a negative net margin of 3.56% and a positive return on equity of 4.31%. The business had revenue of $80.19 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.83 million. Equities analysts forecast that The Honest Company, Inc. will post 0.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HNST has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings raised Honest from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Honest from $3.40 to $5.70 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. B. Riley Financial lifted their price objective on Honest from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Honest presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.84.

Institutional Trading of Honest

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Honest during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,662,000. Mak Capital One LLC acquired a new position in Honest during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,104,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Honest by 796.2% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,006,646 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,177,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,742 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Honest by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,520,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,922,000 after buying an additional 627,537 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Honest by 77.3% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,014,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,619,000 after buying an additional 442,542 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

About Honest

The Honest Company, Inc (NASDAQ: HNST) is an American consumer goods firm specializing in eco-friendly and responsibly formulated products for babies, personal care, beauty and home cleaning. The company emphasizes transparency in ingredient sourcing and product safety, positioning itself in the premium segment of mass-market retail and direct-to-consumer channels.

Honest was founded in 2011 by actress Jessica Alba and environmental health advocate Christopher Gavigan with a mission to offer parents household and baby care items free from harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances.