Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Toast (NYSE:TOST) Stock Price

Key Points

• Mizuho cut its price target on Toast from $45 to $38, while keeping an “outperform” rating. The new target still implies about 65% upside from the stock’s current price.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive, with the consensus rating at “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.28. Several firms recently lowered or set targets in the mid-$30s, though some still rate the stock positively.
• Toast’s latest results showed strong revenue growth but an earnings miss: Q4 revenue rose 22% year over year to $1.63 billion, but EPS of $0.16 fell short of expectations. Shares were trading near their 52-week low at $23.04 when the article was published.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by Mizuho from $45.00 to $38.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Mizuho's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 64.91% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $39.00 price objective on Toast in a research report on Monday, February 16th. Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Toast in a research note on Friday. Rothschild & Co Redburn reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Toast in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital started coverage on shares of Toast in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $26.00 price target for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Toast from $60.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Toast presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.28.

Toast Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE TOST opened at $23.04 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $27.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.58. Toast has a 52-week low of $23.13 and a 52-week high of $49.66. The company has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a PE ratio of 35.44 and a beta of 1.81.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.62 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 20.87% and a net margin of 6.39%.Toast's revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.05 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Toast will post 0.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Aman Narang sold 13,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $352,595.97. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 54,013 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,414,600.47. This represents a 19.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 3,664 shares of the 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 $95,960.16. Following the sale, the general counsel directly owned 243,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,380,983.98. This trade represents a 1.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 39,783 shares of company stock worth $1,041,917. 12.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Toast

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in TOST. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Toast by 7.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,428,060 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,768,256,000 after purchasing an additional 3,351,545 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Toast by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,764,157 shares of the company's stock worth $1,634,339,000 after buying an additional 352,435 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Toast by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,157,955 shares of the company's stock worth $538,259,000 after buying an additional 157,394 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Toast by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,372,626 shares of the company's stock valued at $368,332,000 after buying an additional 653,487 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Toast by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,820,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,729,000 after buying an additional 282,282 shares during the period. 82.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Toast

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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