Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-four analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $45.2727.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Toast in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Toast from $54.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Toast from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Toast from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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.

Toast Trading Up 2.5%

TOST opened at $35.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $18.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.97 and a beta of 1.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $35.41 and its 200-day moving average is $39.47. Toast has a 1-year low of $28.12 and a 1-year high of $49.66.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.16 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Toast will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 6,672 shares of Toast stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.38, for a total value of $229,383.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 162,153 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,574,820.14. The trade was a 3.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.38, for a total transaction of $113,557.14. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 235,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,105,325.66. This trade represents a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 102,595 shares of company stock worth $3,634,737 in the last three months. 12.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Toast during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new stake in Toast during the third quarter worth about $30,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Toast during the second quarter worth about $30,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Toast in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its position in shares of Toast by 123.5% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Toast Company Profile

Toast, Inc (NYSE: TOST) is a technology company that builds a cloud-based platform for restaurants and other foodservice businesses. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, Toast offers integrated point-of-sale (POS) systems and a suite of software and hardware designed to streamline front-of-house and back-of-house operations. The company went public in 2021 and has positioned itself as a vertically integrated provider for the restaurant industry.

Toast’s product portfolio includes touchscreen POS terminals and handheld order-and-pay devices, kitchen display systems, and peripherals tailored for high-volume foodservice environments.