Toast (NYSE:TOST) Reaches New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) hit a new 52-week low on Wednesday after DA Davidson lowered their price target on the stock from $42.00 to $40.00. DA Davidson currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Toast traded as low as $34.64 and last traded at $35.54, with a volume of 6659615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $36.21.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on TOST. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Toast from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. UBS Group raised their price target on Toast from $41.00 to $47.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Toast from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $44.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Toast from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Toast currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.35.

Insider Activity at Toast

In other news, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 653 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.63, for a total transaction of $25,878.39. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 209,206 shares in the company, valued at $8,290,833.78. This represents a 0.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, President Stephen Fredette sold 1,068 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.63, for a total transaction of $42,324.84. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 1,644,656 shares in the company, valued at $65,177,717.28. This trade represents a 0.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 340,770 shares of company stock valued at $11,803,911 over the last quarter. 13.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Toast by 120.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank purchased a new position in Toast during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Toast in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Toast in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Toast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

Toast Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $34.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of -3,523.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 2.00.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). Toast had a net margin of 0.40% and a return on equity of 1.54%. The company had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. On average, equities analysts predict that Toast, Inc. will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

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.