Toast (NYSE:TOST) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $29.38, but opened at $25.20. Toast shares last traded at $24.4410, with a volume of 5,997,707 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on TOST shares. Stephens set a $42.00 price target on Toast in a research report on Friday, January 16th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Toast in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $35.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital started coverage on Toast in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They set a “hold” rating and a $26.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Toast from $47.00 to $36.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Toast in a research note on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Toast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.24.

Toast Trading Down 14.6%

The firm has a market capitalization of $12.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.48 and a beta of 1.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.77.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Toast had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 18.14%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.05 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Toast, Inc. will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Toast declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Aman Narang sold 13,463 shares of Toast stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $352,595.97. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,414,600.47. The trade was a 19.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 3,664 shares of Toast stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $95,960.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 243,642 shares in the company, valued at $6,380,983.98. This represents a 1.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,783 shares of company stock worth $1,041,917. 12.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toast

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Toast by 322.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 362,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,245,000 after buying an additional 276,803 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Toast by 10.9% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 602,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,986,000 after buying an additional 59,045 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Toast by 49.5% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 138,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,988,000 after buying an additional 45,898 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Toast by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 1,042,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,047,000 after buying an additional 152,807 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Toast during the 3rd quarter worth $2,891,000. 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.