Dorria Ball Sells 15,099 Shares of Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) insider Dorria Ball sold 15,099 shares of Honest stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $43,032.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 432,295 shares in the company, valued at $1,232,040.75. This represents a 3.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Honest Stock Down 4.1%

Shares of Honest stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Monday, hitting $2.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,349,221 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,034,835. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2.07 and a 1 year high of $5.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.04. The company has a market capitalization of $316.05 million, a PE ratio of -20.07 and a beta of 2.27.

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

Honest declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HNST has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $3.00 price target on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $3.00 price objective on Honest in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Portolan Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Honest by 11.4% during the third quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 6,928,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,495,000 after purchasing an additional 710,651 shares during the period. Mak Capital One LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Honest in the fourth quarter worth $9,104,000. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Honest by 5.3% in the third quarter. ArrowMark Colorado Holdings LLC now owns 2,999,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,038,000 after buying an additional 151,000 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Honest by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,323,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,996,000 after buying an additional 28,579 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Honest by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,259,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,315,000 after buying an additional 171,425 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.