Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Reduces Stock Position in The Honest Company, Inc. $HNST

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Honest Company by 78%, now holding 221,203 shares valued at approximately $1.04 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Nuveen LLC and Victory Capital Management Inc., have significantly increased their holdings in Honest, with 45.54% of the stock now owned by various institutional investors.
• Analysts have adjusted their price targets for The Honest Company, with Morgan Stanley lowering its target from $5.50 to $4.25, while the consensus rating is currently a "Hold" with a target price of $6.96.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Free Report) by 78.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 221,203 shares of the company's stock after selling 785,672 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 0.20% of Honest worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Honest by 11,727.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,258 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 4,222 shares in the last quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC boosted its holdings in Honest by 6,101.8% in the first quarter. Summit Securities Group LLC now owns 6,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 6,712 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in Honest in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Honest in the first quarter valued at approximately $64,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Honest in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $110,000. 45.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Honest Stock Performance

HNST traded down $0.02 on Wednesday, hitting $3.99. 4,014,732 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,139,470. The business's fifty day moving average is $4.21 and its 200 day moving average is $4.62. The Honest Company, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $3.32 and a fifty-two week high of $8.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $443.97 million, a P/E ratio of 79.82 and a beta of 2.32.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Carla Vernon sold 99,328 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total value of $362,547.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 2,998,993 shares in the company, valued at $10,946,324.45. This trade represents a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Stephen Winchell sold 10,841 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.65, for a total transaction of $39,569.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 410,257 shares in the company, valued at $1,497,438.05. This represents a 2.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,890 shares of company stock worth $481,399 over the last 90 days. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on Honest from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Honest from $5.50 to $4.25 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Honest from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Honest currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $6.96.

Honest Company 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.