Kunssberg Etienne Von Sells 12,179 Shares of Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) SVP Kunssberg Etienne Von sold 12,179 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total value of $34,710.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 308,710 shares in the company, valued at $879,823.50. This trade represents a 3.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Honest Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ HNST opened at $2.90 on Wednesday. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 1-year low of $2.07 and a 1-year high of $5.55. The company has a market capitalization of $326.16 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -20.71 and a beta of 2.27. The business has a 50-day moving average of $2.49 and a 200-day moving average of $3.02.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.02 by ($0.23). The company had revenue of $88.04 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.57 million. Honest had a negative net margin of 4.22% and a positive return on equity of 4.57%. Research analysts expect that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Honest announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HNST has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $3.00 price target on shares of Honest in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research cut shares of Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Honest from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a research report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Honest presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $3.00.

Institutional Trading of Honest

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Honest by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,068,945 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,532,000 after acquiring an additional 196,218 shares in the last quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Honest by 11.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Honest in the 3rd quarter valued at about $286,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Honest during the third quarter worth about $75,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Honest by 18.7% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 3,365 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Honest

Here are the key news stories impacting Honest this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Board authorized a $25.0 million share buyback (up to ~9.9% of outstanding shares), which signals management believes shares may be undervalued and can provide buying support to the stock.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage is mixed-to-negative: the consensus on MarketBeat shows a “Reduce”/average target around $3.00 with multiple banks maintaining underweight/sell or market?perform views; one analyst has a Buy but most are Hold/Sell.
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical/context: the shares sit below the 200?day moving average (~$3.03) but above the 50?day (~$2.48); the name is small?cap and relatively volatile (beta ~2.26).
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Carla Vernon sold 129,335 shares at an average price of $2.85 (~$368.6k), trimming her position ~3.08%. SEC filing — Carla Vernon
• Negative Sentiment: Several other insiders reported sales (small percentages of their holdings), including SVP Kunssberg Etienne Von (12,179 shares), General Counsel Brendan Sheehey (22,556), SVP Jonathan Mayle (12,725) and insider Dorria L. Ball (15,099) — all at approximately $2.85 per share. SEC filing — Kunssberg Etienne Von SEC filing — Brendan Sheehey SEC filing — Jonathan Mayle SEC filing — Dorria L. Ball
• Negative Sentiment: Recent quarterly results (Feb. 25) missed on EPS (reported -$0.21 vs. est. ~$0.02) and revenue was marginally below expectations — a near-term operational headwind to sentiment and analyst outlooks.

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.