Portolan Capital Management LLC Has $25.50 Million Holdings in The Honest Company, Inc. $HNST

Portolan Capital Management LLC raised its stake in The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) by 11.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,928,004 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 710,651 shares during the period. Honest makes up approximately 1.4% of Portolan Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Portolan Capital Management LLC owned 0.06% of Honest worth $25,495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Wyoming bought a new position in shares of Honest during the 2nd quarter worth about $61,000. Ethos Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Honest by 45.1% in the third quarter. Ethos Financial Group LLC now owns 17,733 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 5,514 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Honest in the second quarter valued at about $68,000. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its position in Honest by 33.9% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 14,577 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after buying an additional 3,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Honest during the third quarter worth about $75,000. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Honest Stock Up 0.4%

NASDAQ:HNST opened at $2.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $308.17 million, a PE ratio of -19.57 and a beta of 2.27. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.07 and a 12-month high of $5.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $2.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.01.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.02 by ($0.23). Honest had a negative net margin of 4.22% and a positive return on equity of 4.57%. The company had revenue of $88.04 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $88.57 million. On average, 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 approved a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Honest

In other Honest news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 22,556 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $64,284.60. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 725,672 shares in the company, valued at $2,068,165.20. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 12,725 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $36,266.25. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 455,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,297,864.35. This represents a 2.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 191,894 shares of company stock worth $546,898 over the last three months. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HNST has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Friday, January 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research lowered Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen cut Honest from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $3.00 target price on Honest in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $3.00.

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.