Brendan Sheehey Sells 9,784 Shares of Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 9,784 shares of the 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 $30,721.76. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 715,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,247,888.32. The trade was a 1.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Brendan Sheehey also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, March 5th, Brendan Sheehey sold 22,556 shares of Honest stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $64,284.60.

Honest Stock Up 6.9%

NASDAQ:HNST opened at $3.41 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $3.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $2.78. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.07 and a 52 week high of $5.28. The stock has a market cap of $375.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.06 and a beta of 2.15.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 EPS for the quarter, meeting 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 firm had revenue of $78.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.25 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Honest Company, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Portolan Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Honest by 11.4% during the third quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC now owns 6,928,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,495,000 after purchasing an additional 710,651 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in Honest during the third quarter valued at approximately $286,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Honest during the third quarter valued at approximately $75,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Honest by 18.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,366 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 3,365 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in Honest during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $140,000. Institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

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.