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

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

Honest Trading Up 6.9%

Shares of NASDAQ HNST traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $3.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,777,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,839,630. The company has a market capitalization of $375.37 million, a PE ratio of -20.06 and a beta of 2.15. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $3.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.78. The Honest Company, Inc. has a one year low of $2.07 and a one year high of $5.28.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.01 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.01. The company had revenue of $78.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $76.25 million. Honest had a positive return on equity of 3.52% and a negative net margin of 5.39%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Honest Company, Inc. will post 0.1 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Honest declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Friday, February 20th that permits the company to repurchase $25.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 9.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HNST. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted 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 purchasing an additional 6,599 shares during the period. Equity Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Honest during the third quarter worth $37,000. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in Honest during the third quarter worth $39,000. Amicus Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Honest during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new position in Honest during the second quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors own 45.54% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on HNST. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $4.00 target price on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $3.40 target price on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Alliance Global Partners reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Honest from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Honest has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.