Toast (NYSE:TOST) Stock Price Up 4.8% – Still a Buy?

Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) was up 4.8% during trading on Friday. The stock traded as high as $35.09 and last traded at $35.13. Approximately 2,311,479 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 10,856,212 shares. The stock had previously closed at $33.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on TOST shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $40.00 target price on Toast in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Toast from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Toast from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Toast from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Toast in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.46.

Toast Trading Up 4.7%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.85 and a 200 day moving average of $29.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.57 and a beta of 1.74.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.08). Toast had a net margin of 7.69% and a return on equity of 26.39%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.16 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Toast, Inc. will post 1.08 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Toast news, CEO Aman Narang sold 14,713 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $431,826.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,540,037.05. This trade represents a 14.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, President Stephen Fredette sold 9,368 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total transaction of $274,950.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 941,692 shares in the company, valued at $27,638,660.20. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 202,818 shares of company stock valued at $6,843,170. 10.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TOST. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. raised its position in Toast by 138.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 264,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,807,000 after buying an additional 153,928 shares during the last quarter. Junto Capital Management LP bought a new position in Toast during the 2nd quarter valued at $54,320,000. Keenan Capital LLC purchased a new position in Toast during the 2nd quarter worth $31,047,000. Quantitative Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Toast by 120.1% during the 2nd quarter. Quantitative Investment Management LLC now owns 63,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,775,000 after acquiring an additional 34,831 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Toast by 47.4% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 970,799 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,008,000 after acquiring an additional 312,077 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

About Toast

Toast, Inc. provides a cloud-based technology platform designed for restaurants. Its products combine point-of-sale software and hardware with payment processing, helping restaurants manage in-person transactions and day-to-day operations. The platform includes tools for online ordering, delivery, marketing, customer loyalty, payroll, and team management, alongside features for managing menus and restaurant operations. Restaurants can use Toast’s products together or select services to fit their needs.