Insider Selling: Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) CEO Sells $368,604.75 in Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) CEO Carla Vernon sold 129,335 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 $368,604.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,065,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,586,806.10. This represents a 3.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Honest Price Performance

Shares of HNST stock opened at $2.82 on Thursday. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 1 year low of $2.07 and a 1 year high of $5.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.02. The company has a market cap of $317.18 million, a PE ratio of -20.14 and a beta of 2.27.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Honest announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Friday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $25.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HNST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $3.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Honest has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.00.

Institutional Trading of Honest

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Honest by 1,392.2% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 6,599 shares during the period. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Honest during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in Honest during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Honest in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Equity Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Honest in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. 45.54% of the stock is currently 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.