Jessica Alba’s Honest Co. Loses Post-IPO Gain in Stock Slide

Honest Co.’s stock slump deepened as the consumer-goods company started by actress Jessica Alba fell below the price set in an initial public offering just last week.

The shares tumbled as much as 10 percent to $15 Tuesday morning in New York, dipping for the first time below the $16 IPO price on May 4. After gaining 44 percent in the first day of trading, the stock has lost about a third of its value.

The slump is an inauspicious start for a company looking to capitalize on elevated demand for packaged goods and cleaning supplies during the pandemic. Alba, who co-founded the direct-to-consumer brand in 2011 and now serves as chief creative officer, brought some Hollywood glamour to the IPO last week with multiple media appearances.

There have been hints that the pandemic boom is starting to fade for packaged goods, with some companies in the space reporting higher costs and uneven demand trends recently. Data and research company New Constructs called Honest “overvalued” in a recent report and said the stock is “worth no more than $7” a share.

Honest didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Honest specializes in baby products such as diapers and wipes, which accounted for 63 percent of last year’s sales, as well as household cleaning supplies and personal care items. The Los Angeles-based company, which competes with the likes of Procter & Gamble Co. and Kimberly-Clark Corp., sells through online channels as well as retailers such as Target Corp.

Honest generated sales last year of about $301 million, a 28 percent increase over 2019. It lost $14.5 million in 2020.

The company and its stockholders raised $413 million in last week’s share sale. Honest offered 6.5 million shares, with more than 19 million shares sold by investors including private equity firm L Catterton, Institutional Venture Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners and General Catalyst.

By Richard Clough