The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,000,000 shares, a decline of 11.1% from the October 15th total of 2,250,000 shares. Currently, 3.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,620,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Stephen Winchell sold 6,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.28, for a total transaction of $29,694.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 414,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,775,070.08. The trade was a 1.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO David Loretta sold 75,656 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.28, for a total transaction of $323,807.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 987,757 shares in the company, valued at $4,227,599.96. The trade was a 7.11 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,461,187 shares of company stock valued at $8,739,880 in the last three months. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd boosted its position in shares of Honest by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 80,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 5,330 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Honest during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Honest by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 225,567 shares of the company’s stock worth $805,000 after purchasing an additional 7,379 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd raised its stake in shares of Honest by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 137,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 8,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Honest during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Honest Stock Performance

NASDAQ:HNST traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $7.51. The stock had a trading volume of 2,381,199 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,444,990. Honest has a 12-month low of $1.47 and a 12-month high of $7.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HNST has been the subject of several recent research reports. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on shares of Honest from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Northland Capmk raised shares of Honest to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Northland Securities raised their price objective on shares of Honest from $6.50 to $7.50 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Alliance Global Partners raised their target price on shares of Honest from $5.75 to $8.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, B. Riley raised their price objective on shares of Honest from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $5.93.

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.