New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 172,146 Shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST)

Key Points

• The New York State Common Retirement Fund sold 172,146 shares of The Honest Company, reducing its holdings by 87.2% in the first quarter.
• Telsey Advisory Group maintained a "market perform" rating for Honest with a target price of $7.00, while the stock has an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Honest's stock recently opened at $4.95, with a 1-year low of $2.99 and a high of $8.97, indicating volatility in its market performance.

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Free Report) by 87.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,200 shares of the company's stock after selling 172,146 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund's holdings in Honest were worth $118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Honest during the fourth quarter valued at about $336,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Honest by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 180,398 shares of the company's stock worth $1,250,000 after buying an additional 54,578 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Honest by 23.5% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 190,820 shares of the company's stock worth $1,322,000 after buying an additional 36,294 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Honest by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 29,138 shares of the company's stock valued at $202,000 after acquiring an additional 10,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Honest by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,147,369 shares of the company's stock worth $35,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052,305 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Honest presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $7.70.

Insider Transactions at Honest

In other news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 12,017 shares of Honest stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total value of $63,930.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 580,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,089,042.04. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 4,788 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total transaction of $25,472.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 302,952 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,611,704.64. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 165,726 shares of company stock worth $881,662. 8.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Honest Price Performance

Honest stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $4.84. The stock had a trading volume of 5,156,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,497,009. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.13. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 52 week low of $2.99 and a 52 week high of $8.97. The stock has a market cap of $533.56 million, a PE ratio of -242.00 and a beta of 2.35.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.02 by $0.01. Honest had a negative return on equity of 0.95% and a negative net margin of 0.38%. The company had revenue of $97.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.46 million. Research analysts predict that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.