Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $7.43, but opened at $7.16. Honest shares last traded at $7.12, with a volume of 307,646 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HNST has been the subject of a number of research reports. Alliance Global Partners upped their target price on shares of Honest from $5.75 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Loop Capital cut shares of Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Tuesday. B. Riley raised their target price on shares of Honest from $6.50 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Honest from $4.00 to $6.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Northland Securities lifted their target price on shares of Honest from $7.50 to $9.50 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Honest has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.79.

Honest Stock Down 4.7 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $5.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $4.26. The stock has a market cap of $714.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -185.75 and a beta of 2.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jessica Warren sold 465,000 shares of Honest stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.55, for a total value of $3,510,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,170,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,833,937.90. This trade represents a 28.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Shared Abacus Lp Thc sold 2,300,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $3.50, for a total transaction of $8,050,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,869,803 shares in the company, valued at $34,544,310.50. The trade was a 18.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,099,818 shares of company stock worth $14,025,421 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 8.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Honest

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. purchased a new position in Honest in the third quarter valued at $164,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Honest during the 3rd quarter worth about $219,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Honest by 298.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 110,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after acquiring an additional 82,713 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Honest by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,811,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,468,000 after acquiring an additional 65,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd lifted its stake in Honest by 14.2% during the third quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 157,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after purchasing an additional 19,566 shares during the last quarter. 45.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.