The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Short Interest Update

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,540,000 shares, an increase of 37.2% from the December 15th total of 2,580,000 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Honest news, EVP Stephen Winchell sold 7,123 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.10, for a total value of $50,573.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 382,613 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,552.30. This represents a 1.83 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 8,392 shares of Honest stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.10, for a total value of $59,583.20. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 516,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,669,393.60. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 799,818 shares of company stock valued at $5,975,421. 8.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in HNST. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Honest by 47.7% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 42,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,000 after buying an additional 13,644 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Honest by 377.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 773,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,762,000 after acquiring an additional 611,844 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. bought a new position in shares of Honest during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $164,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest in the third quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Honest by 298.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 82,713 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Honest Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of HNST stock opened at $6.58 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $4.87. Honest has a 52 week low of $2.40 and a 52 week high of $8.97. The stock has a market cap of $664.32 million, a P/E ratio of -164.50 and a beta of 2.45.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Honest from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Alliance Global Partners upped their target price on shares of Honest from $5.75 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. B. Riley increased their price target on Honest from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Northland Securities boosted their price objective on Honest from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Honest currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $6.93.

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.