Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) CEO Carla Vernon Sells 117,893 Shares of Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) CEO Carla Vernon sold 117,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.99, for a total transaction of $588,286.07. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,828,558 shares in the company, valued at $19,104,504.42. This represents a 2.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Honest Price Performance

NASDAQ:HNST traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $5.20. 2,778,794 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,883,129. The Honest Company, Inc. has a one year low of $2.07 and a one year high of $5.84. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $4.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.37. The company has a market cap of $572.41 million, a PE 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Honest Company, Inc. will post 0.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the second quarter worth $26,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Honest by 1,392.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Honest in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Equity Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Honest in the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in Honest in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on HNST shares. Northland Securities set a $5.50 price objective on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. B. Riley Financial increased their target price on Honest from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Honest from $3.40 to $5.70 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Honest from $4.00 to $5.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Honest from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.84.

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.