Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Stock Price Up 5.1% - Still a Buy?

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) was up 5.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $4.59 and last traded at $4.60. Approximately 606,197 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 2,529,621 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.37.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $7.00 price objective on shares of Honest in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $7.70.

Honest Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $508.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -230.75 and a beta of 2.39. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $4.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.57.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 4,788 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now directly owns 302,952 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,611,704.64. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO David Loretta sold 34,389 shares of Honest stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.32, for a total transaction of $182,949.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 883,153 shares in the company, valued at $4,698,373.96. This represents a 3.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 165,726 shares of company stock valued at $881,662 in the last three months. 8.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Honest by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,208,668 shares of the company's stock worth $24,481,000 after purchasing an additional 61,299 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Honest by 98.8% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,073,471 shares of the company's stock worth $14,445,000 after buying an additional 1,527,080 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in Honest by 589.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Honest by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,372,200 shares of the company's stock worth $16,439,000 after purchasing an additional 398,603 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Honest in the 1st quarter valued at $10,554,000. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Honest

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.

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