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

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,780,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days. Approximately 6.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Honest news, insider Stephen Winchell sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total value of $99,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 431,844 shares in the company, valued at $2,150,583.12. This represents a 4.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 37,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,498,693.80. The trade was a 10.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 8.60% of the company's stock.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of HNST. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Zacks Investment Management purchased a new position in Honest during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in Honest during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Utah Retirement Systems purchased a new position in Honest during the 4th quarter worth $86,000. Finally, Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Honest during the 4th quarter worth $89,000. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on HNST. Loop Capital lowered 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Northland Securities upped their price objective on Honest from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Honest currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.42.

Honest Stock Performance

Honest stock remained flat at $5.02 during midday trading on Friday. The company had a trading volume of 2,040,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,024,240. The business's 50 day moving average price is $5.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.53. Honest has a 52 week low of $2.40 and a 52 week high of $8.97. The company has a market cap of $546.73 million, a PE ratio of -125.50 and a beta of 2.45.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.02) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $99.84 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.46 million. Honest had a negative return on equity of 3.26% and a negative net margin of 1.13%. As a group, research analysts predict that Honest will post -0.07 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.