Toast (NYSE:TOST) Stock Rating Upgraded by BNP Paribas Exane

Toast (NYSE:TOST) was upgraded by analysts at BNP Paribas Exane from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a $40.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane’s price target points to a potential upside of 18.19% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on TOST. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their price target on shares of Toast from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Toast from $54.00 to $45.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Toast from $51.00 to $41.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Toast from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on Toast from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Toast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $45.18.

Toast Price Performance

Toast stock opened at $33.84 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a PE ratio of 78.71 and a beta of 1.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $36.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $41.00. Toast has a 1-year low of $28.12 and a 1-year high of $49.66.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.08). Toast had a return on equity of 15.77% and a net margin of 4.68%.The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 25.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Toast will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Toast

In other Toast news, President Stephen Fredette sold 7,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.56, for a total value of $268,478.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 898,475 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,949,771. The trade was a 0.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Aman Narang sold 13,652 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.56, for a total transaction of $485,465.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 318,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,313,414. The trade was a 4.11% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 49,759 shares of company stock worth $1,769,270 over the last quarter. 12.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its stake in Toast by 29.2% in the 2nd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 83,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,712,000 after purchasing an additional 18,950 shares in the last quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc acquired a new stake in Toast in the second quarter valued at $1,329,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Toast by 5.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,092,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,569,000 after buying an additional 153,723 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank increased its position in shares of Toast by 122.9% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 76,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,542,000 after buying an additional 42,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Toast by 373.5% during the 1st quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 43,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,452,000 after buying an additional 34,532 shares during the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Toast

Toast, Inc operates a cloud-based digital technology platform for the restaurant industry in the United States, Ireland, and India. The company offers software products for restaurant operations and point of sale, such as Toast POS, Toast now, multi-location management, kitchen display system, Toast mobile order and pay, Toast catering and events, Toast invoicing, Toast tables, and restaurant retail; and hardware products, including Toast flex, Toast flex for guest, Toast go 2, Toast tap, kiosks, and Delphi by Toast.