Acadian Asset Management LLC Sells 769,255 Shares of The Honest Company, Inc. $HNST

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in The Honest Company by 35%, selling 769,255 shares, bringing its holdings to approximately 1.30% of the company.
• Analysts have downgraded Honest's stock ratings, with Morgan Stanley lowering its price target from $5.50 to $4.25, while the stock currently has an average price target of $6.96.
• Insider selling has occurred recently, with CEO Carla Vernon selling 99,328 shares at an average price of $3.65, reducing her ownership in the company.

Acadian Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,428,453 shares of the company's stock after selling 769,255 shares during the quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned 1.30% of Honest worth $6,711,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Honest by 18.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,064,179 shares of the company's stock worth $5,002,000 after acquiring an additional 163,380 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Honest by 16.4% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,936,846 shares of the company's stock worth $9,103,000 after buying an additional 272,765 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Honest by 6.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,916 shares of the company's stock worth $235,000 after buying an additional 3,210 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Honest by 152.0% in the first quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 188,791 shares of the company's stock worth $887,000 after buying an additional 113,872 shares during the period. Finally, DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest in the first quarter worth $58,000. 45.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Honest news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 12,059 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total value of $44,015.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 568,588 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,075,346.20. The trade was a 2.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Stephen Winchell sold 10,841 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total transaction of $39,569.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 410,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,497,438.05. The trade was a 2.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 131,890 shares of company stock worth $481,399. Corporate insiders own 8.90% of the company's stock.

Honest Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of HNST stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $4.09. 2,719,200 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,216,348. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $3.32 and a 12 month high of $8.97. The company has a market cap of $455.09 million, a P/E ratio of 81.82 and a beta of 2.33. The company's 50-day moving average price is $4.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $4.63.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by ($0.02). Honest had a net margin of 1.66% and a return on equity of 3.84%. The business had revenue of $93.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.18 million. Equities analysts predict that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on HNST shares. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Honest from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Honest from $5.50 to $4.25 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group decreased their target price on shares of Honest from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Honest currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.96.

Honest Profile

The Honest Company, Inc manufactures and sells diapers and wipes, skin and personal care, and household and wellness products. The company also offers baby clothing and nursery bedding products. It sells its products through digital and retail sales channels, such as its website and third-party ecommerce sites, as well as brick and mortar retailers.