Virtu Financial LLC Acquires Shares of 39,785 Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST)

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired a new stake in Toast, Inc., purchasing 39,785 shares valued at approximately $1.32 million during the first quarter, according to its SEC filing.
• Insider trading activity includes Director Paul D. Bell selling 11,000 shares, reducing his holding by 4.57%, while CFO Elena Gomez sold 34,170 shares, marking a 19.69% decrease in her position.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Toast, Inc.'s stock ratings, with Jefferies boosting their price target from $50 to $54 and Morgan Stanley raising theirs to $54, reflecting strong market interest in the company's performance.

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 39,785 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,320,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Toast during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Toast by 57.1% during the 1st quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 1,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Toast by 862.1% during the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Toast by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Toast by 227.1% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,472 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022 shares during the period. 82.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Toast Price Performance

NYSE:TOST traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.33. The stock had a trading volume of 10,589,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,312,319. Toast, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.91 and a 1-year high of $49.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $44.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $40.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 125.91 and a beta of 2.01.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $1.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Toast had a net margin of 4.07% and a return on equity of 14.19%. Toast's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Toast, Inc. will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on TOST shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Toast from $45.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Toast from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Toast from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Toast in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group lifted their price objective on Toast from $48.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.54.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Aman Narang sold 13,829 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $588,977.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 302,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,883,389.82. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 300,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total transaction of $12,780,000.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel owned 216,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,208,245.60. This represents a 58.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 404,054 shares of company stock worth $17,300,366 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 12.14% of the company's stock.

Toast Profile

Toast, Inc operates a cloud-based digital technology platform for the restaurant industry in the United States, Ireland, and India. The company offers software products for restaurant operations and point of sale, such as Toast POS, Toast now, multi-location management, kitchen display system, Toast mobile order and pay, Toast catering and events, Toast invoicing, Toast tables, and restaurant retail; and hardware products, including Toast flex, Toast flex for guest, Toast go 2, Toast tap, kiosks, and Delphi by Toast.