Toast (NYSE:TOST) Stock Dropped to "Hold" by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Toast from “Buy” to “Hold,” although broader analyst sentiment remains “Moderate Buy,” with 16 Buy ratings, 11 Holds, and an average price target of $39.12.
• Toast shares opened at $29.77, below their 52-week high of $39.72. The company’s latest quarterly revenue reached $1.91 billion, up 23.1% year over year, but earnings of $0.26 per share missed estimates by $0.06.
• Toast insiders sold 474,418 shares worth approximately $16.8 million over the past 90 days, while hedge funds and institutional investors own 82.91% of the company.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

TOST has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays raised their price objective on Toast from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Toast in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Toast from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Toast from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Toast from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Toast has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.12.

Toast Stock Performance

Shares of TOST stock opened at $29.77 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.17 and a beta of 1.74. Toast has a one year low of $22.26 and a one year high of $39.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $28.96.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 23.90% and a net margin of 7.14%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Toast will post 1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Toast news, CEO Aman Narang sold 124,542 shares of Toast stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.29, for a total transaction of $4,395,087.18. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 175,458 shares in the company, valued at $6,191,912.82. The trade was a 41.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 85,280 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total value of $3,099,075.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive directly owned 69,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,542,564.44. The trade was a 54.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 474,418 shares of company stock worth $16,784,668. 10.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Toast by 2.5% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,748 shares of the company's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Toast by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 67,909 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,800,000 after buying an additional 358 shares during the period. Hickory Point Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Toast by 10.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust now owns 5,500 shares of the company's stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Toast by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,985 shares of the company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. Finally, Wynn Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Toast by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wynn Capital LLC now owns 14,615 shares of the company's stock worth $407,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares during the period. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Toast

Toast, Inc NYSE: TOST provides a cloud-based technology platform designed for restaurants and other foodservice businesses. Its platform combines point-of-sale hardware and software with tools for payment processing, menu and order management, employee operations, inventory, reporting and customer engagement.

The company's products and services support in-restaurant, online and delivery orders, as well as gift cards, loyalty programs, marketing and payroll-related functions. Toast also offers restaurant-specific hardware, including terminals, handheld devices, kitchen display systems and self-service kiosks, allowing businesses to manage operations through an integrated technology ecosystem.

Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Boston, Toast initially focused on helping restaurants replace traditional point-of-sale systems with cloud-based technology.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.