Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) CFO Curtiss James Bruce III Sells 12,669 Shares

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) CFO Curtiss James Bruce III sold 12,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.14, for a total transaction of $39,780.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 526,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,652,132.98. This trade represents a 2.35% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Honest Stock Up 6.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:HNST opened at $3.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $3.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.78. The stock has a market cap of $375.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.06 and a beta of 2.15. The Honest Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $2.07 and a fifty-two week high of $5.28.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.01. Honest had a negative net margin of 5.39% and a positive return on equity of 3.52%. The company had revenue of $78.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.25 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Honest Company, Inc. will post 0.1 EPS for the current year.

Honest declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Honest by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 223,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $656,000 after purchasing an additional 49,342 shares during the last quarter. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Honest in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in Honest in the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Honest in the 4th quarter valued at about $448,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Honest by 45.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 186,991 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 58,784 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on HNST shares. Alliance Global Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Honest from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Honest from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley set a $3.40 target price on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and set a $4.00 target price on shares of Honest in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Honest has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.47.

Honest Company Profile

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.