Hamilton Lane Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Toast, Inc. $TOST

Key Points

• Hamilton Lane Advisors LLC bought 444,091 shares of Toast in Q4 — roughly $15.77 million — making Toast about 8.7% of the firm's portfolio and its fifth-largest holding.
• Insider selling has been notable: multiple senior execs (including CEO Aman Narang) sold shares on April 2, the CEO's sale cut his stake by ~19.95%, and insiders have disposed of 74,249 shares (~$2.20M) in the past 90 days.
• Mixed outlook: Toast grew revenue 22% year-over-year but missed EPS estimates ($0.16 vs. $0.24); the stock trades around $26.44 while analysts' average target is about $39.88, producing a "Moderate Buy" consensus amid recent price-target cuts.

Hamilton Lane Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 444,091 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,770,000. Toast makes up about 8.7% of Hamilton Lane Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Hamilton Lane Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Toast as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of TOST. Toth Financial Advisory Corp increased its position in shares of Toast by 104.5% during the fourth quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 2,045 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares in the last quarter. Element Squared LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Toast in the 4th quarter worth $1,062,000. Blossom Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Toast in the 4th quarter worth $369,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Toast by 773.8% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,599 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 1,416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Toast during the 4th quarter worth $265,000. 82.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Toast News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Toast this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: Loop Capital initiated coverage of Toast with a "Hold" rating, which removes an immediate buy catalyst and may cap near‑term upside until clearer growth/profitability signals arrive. Loop Capital coverage
• Neutral Sentiment: Toast has been heavily searched by investors (Zacks spotlight), which can increase short‑term volume and volatility but doesn't itself change fundamentals. Zacks: Investors Heavily Search
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple senior executives sold stock on April 2 (CEO Aman Narang, CFO Elena Gomez, President Stephen Fredette, General Counsel Brian Elworthy, and CRO Jonathan Vassil), collectively disposing of roughly $1.04M of shares at about $26.19 each. The CEO's sale reduced his holding by ~19.95%; other insiders also trimmed positions. Clustered sales by top management can be perceived negatively by the market (signaling liquidity needs or reduced insider confidence), even if they stem from routine vesting/diversification; filings are available with the SEC. CEO SEC filing

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Toast from $51.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Toast in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of Toast in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of Toast from $60.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research lowered shares of Toast from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Toast presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $39.88.

Insider Activity at Toast

In other Toast news, CEO Aman Narang sold 13,463 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $352,595.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,414,600.47. This trade represents a 19.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Elena Gomez sold 8,929 shares of Toast stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total transaction of $233,850.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 173,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,532,546.16. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 74,249 shares of company stock worth $2,201,620 in the last ninety days. 12.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Toast Stock Performance

Shares of TOST stock opened at $26.44 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $28.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.86 billion, a PE ratio of 48.97 and a beta of 1.90. Toast, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.35 and a fifty-two week high of $49.66.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 18.14% and a net margin of 5.56%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Toast, Inc. will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Toast announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Toast 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.

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