Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

The Honest Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:HNST)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $5.68, but opened at $5.05. Honest shares last traded at $5.00, with a volume of 5,999,045 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Northland Securities upped their price objective 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. B. Riley boosted 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. Loop Capital cut shares of Honest from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $7.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Honest in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Alliance Global Partners boosted their target price on shares of Honest from $5.75 to $8.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Honest presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $6.93.

Honest Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $545.19 million, a PE ratio of -135.00 and a beta of 2.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $6.27 and its 200-day moving average is $5.45.

Honest (NASDAQ:HNST) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $99.84 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $96.46 million. Honest had a negative net margin of 1.13% and a negative return on equity of 3.26%. On average, analysts predict that The Honest Company, Inc. will post -0.07 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Honest

In other Honest news, Director Jessica Warren sold 465,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $7.55, for a total value of $3,510,750.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,170,058 shares in the company, valued at $8,833,937.90. The trade was a 28.44 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 8.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Honest

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of HNST. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Honest by 589.7% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 2,397,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,616,000 after acquiring an additional 2,049,981 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Honest by 869.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,546,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,716,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386,961 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Honest by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,147,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,671,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052,305 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Honest by 1,504.9% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 851,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,040,000 after acquiring an additional 798,384 shares during the last quarter. 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.