Dorria Ball Sells 15,099 Shares of Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Stock

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) insider Dorria Ball sold 15,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $43,032.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 432,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,232,040.75. This trade represents a 3.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Honest Stock Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:HNST opened at $2.90 on Wednesday. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.07 and a 12-month high of $5.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $2.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $326.16 million, a P/E ratio of -20.71 and a beta of 2.27.

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

Honest declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $25.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

More Honest News

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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Honest by 1,392.2% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 7,073 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 6,599 shares during the period. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Honest in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Honest during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Hibernia Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Honest during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Equity Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Honest during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HNST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $3.00 price target on shares of Honest in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “underweight” rating on shares of Honest in a report on Friday, January 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered Honest from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded Honest from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $3.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from 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.