Toast, Inc. $TOST Stock: Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Lowers Stake

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its Toast stake by 32.6% in the third quarter, selling 316,594 shares and retaining 654,205 shares worth approximately $18.97 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.91% of Toast.
• Analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.15; UBS, Goldman Sachs and other firms recently raised their targets.
• Toast reported quarterly revenue of $1.91 billion, up 23.1% year over year and above estimates, but earnings per share of $0.26 missed consensus by $0.06. Company insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations related to vested equity awards.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its holdings in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST - Free Report) by 32.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 654,205 shares of the company's stock after selling 316,594 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.13% of Toast worth $18,965,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayban bought a new position in Toast during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Toast during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Toast in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Toast in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Toast by 172.0% in the 1st quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 1,455 shares of the company's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 920 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

TOST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Toast from $34.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Toast from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $36.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 9th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Toast from $30.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Toast from $36.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Toast from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $39.15.

Toast Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:TOST opened at $31.68 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61 and a beta of 1.74. Toast, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.26 and a 1-year high of $39.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $29.23.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.06). Toast had a net margin of 7.14% and a return on equity of 23.90%. The company had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Toast, Inc. will post 1.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Toast

In related news, CEO Aman Narang sold 14,713 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total value of $431,826.55. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 86,543 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,540,037.05. This represents a 14.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Brian Elworthy sold 6,507 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 $190,980.45. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 204,023 shares in the company, valued at $5,988,075.05. This represents a 3.09% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders sold 534,830 shares of company stock worth $18,566,600. 10.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Toast Profile

Toast, Inc NYSE: TOST provides a cloud-based technology platform designed for restaurants. Its integrated system combines point-of-sale software and hardware with payment processing, helping restaurants manage sales, orders, menus, guest interactions and day-to-day operations from a unified platform.

The company offers products and services including online ordering, delivery management, digital ordering and payment tools, restaurant websites, gift cards, loyalty programs, marketing, labor management, payroll, inventory management, reporting and analytics.

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