Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Insider Dorria Ball Sells 6,812 Shares of Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) insider Dorria Ball sold 6,812 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.99, for a total transaction of $33,991.88. Following the sale, the insider owned 418,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,088,734.16. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Honest Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of HNST stock opened at $5.20 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $4.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $3.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $572.42 million, a PE ratio of -47.27 and a beta of 2.12. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.07 and a 52-week high of $5.84.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HNST. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in Honest by 6.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Honest by 33.9% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 14,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 3,693 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Honest by 14.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 33,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,000 after acquiring an additional 4,378 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Honest by 24.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 25,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after purchasing an additional 4,873 shares during the period. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its holdings in Honest by 1,392.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 6,599 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on HNST. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Honest from $3.40 to $5.70 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Honest from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Honest from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Honest from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Honest has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.84.

Key Stories Impacting Honest

Here are the key news stories impacting Honest this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: The sales were conducted through scheduled trading plans rather than appearing to reflect an immediate change in management’s view of the business. The executives also retained substantial positions, including CEO Carla Vernon’s approximately 3.83 million shares after her transaction. SEC insider-trading filing
• Negative Sentiment: Seven reported transactions involved approximately 150,854 shares sold for a combined value of about $752,853 at prices near $4.99 to $5.01. CEO Carla Vernon accounted for the largest sale—117,893 shares worth approximately $588,286—while other sellers included senior executives, the general counsel and board-level insiders. The concentration of selling by several insiders could weigh on sentiment, particularly as HNST trades well above its 50-day and 200-day moving averages and near its 52-week high. SEC insider-trading filings

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.