Trexquant Investment LP Raises Holdings in The Honest Company, Inc. $HNST

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its holdings in The Honest Company by 23.5%, owning 442,831 shares valued at approximately $2.08 million.
• Multiple institutional investors, including Summit Securities Group and Aigen Investment Management, have significantly raised their stakes in The Honest Company during the first quarter.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $6.96 for Honest, with ratings ranging from "Buy" to "Hold," indicating mixed confidence in the stock's performance.

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Free Report) by 23.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 442,831 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 84,226 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.40% of Honest worth $2,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HNST. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest in the 1st quarter valued at $10,554,000. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in Honest by 589.7% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,397,636 shares of the company's stock worth $16,616,000 after buying an additional 2,049,981 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Honest by 98.8% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,073,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,445,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527,080 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Honest by 103.5% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 2,046,868 shares of the company's stock worth $14,185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,040 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Honest by 138.2% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 899,726 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,229,000 after purchasing an additional 522,002 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Honest news, CEO Carla Vernon sold 99,328 shares of the business'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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 2,998,993 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,946,324.45. The trade was a 3.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Stephen Winchell sold 10,841 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 $39,569.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 410,257 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,497,438.05. This trade represents a 2.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 131,890 shares of company stock valued at $481,399 in the last ninety days. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Honest Price Performance

HNST stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $4.01. 2,458,636 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,593,882. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $4.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $4.71. The Honest Company, Inc. has a one year low of $3.32 and a one year high of $8.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.22 and a beta of 2.32.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $92.18 million. Honest had a return on equity of 3.84% and a net margin of 1.66%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HNST has been the subject of several research reports. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Honest from $7.00 to $6.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Honest from $5.50 to $4.25 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Honest presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.