The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) Short Interest Up 37.2% in January

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) was the target of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,540,000 shares, a growth of 37.2% from the December 31st total of 2,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,330,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.1 days. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HNST shares. Alliance Global Partners lifted their price objective on Honest from $5.75 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. B. Riley raised their price target on Honest from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Loop Capital lowered Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Honest from $6.00 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Northland Securities raised their target price on shares of Honest from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $6.93.

Insider Transactions at Honest

In other Honest news, General Counsel Brendan Sheehey sold 8,392 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.10, for a total transaction of $59,583.20. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 516,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,669,393.60. The trade was a 1.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Carla Vernon sold 65,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.10, for a total value of $462,749.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 2,763,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,618,315.30. This represents a 2.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 799,818 shares of company stock valued at $5,975,421 in the last quarter. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new stake in Honest during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Creative Planning acquired a new stake in shares of Honest in the third quarter worth $39,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Honest in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Honest in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Honest during the 3rd quarter worth $71,000. 45.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Honest Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of HNST opened at $6.41 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $6.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $5.12. Honest has a twelve month low of $2.40 and a twelve month high of $8.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $647.16 million, a P/E ratio of -160.25 and a beta of 2.45.

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.