D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Increases Position in The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST - Free Report) by 589.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,397,636 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,049,981 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 2.37% of Honest worth $16,616,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of HNST. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Honest during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Utah Retirement Systems purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Walleye Trading LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $109,000. 45.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Stephen Winchell sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $4.98, for a total transaction of $99,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 431,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,150,583.12. This represents a 4.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Jonathan Mayle sold 37,481 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $4.87, for a total transaction of $182,532.47. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 307,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,498,693.80. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 8.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Telsey Advisory Group reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Honest in a research note 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $7.70.

Honest Stock Performance

Shares of Honest stock traded up $0.31 on Friday, reaching $5.51. The company had a trading volume of 3,193,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,289,524. The Honest Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $2.40 and a 52-week high of $8.97. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $4.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.81. The firm has a market cap of $607.41 million, a PE ratio of -137.75 and a beta of 2.43.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.02 by $0.01. Honest had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 3.26%. The firm had revenue of $97.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $92.46 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current 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.