Insider Selling: Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) General Counsel Sells $64,284.60 in Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 22,556 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $64,284.60. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 725,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,068,165.20. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Honest Trading Down 2.8%

NASDAQ HNST opened at $2.82 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $317.18 million, a P/E ratio of -20.14 and a beta of 2.27. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $2.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $3.02. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2.07 and a 1 year high of $5.55.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.23). The firm had revenue of $88.04 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.57 million. Honest had a negative net margin of 4.22% and a positive return on equity of 4.57%. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Honest declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on HNST. Wall Street Zen downgraded Honest from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $3.00 price target on Honest in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Honest has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $3.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Honest during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Honest in the 4th quarter valued at $86,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Honest during the 4th quarter valued at $448,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Honest by 45.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 186,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 58,784 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Honest by 47.1% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 181,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 57,956 shares in the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Honest Company Profile

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.