Toast (NYSE:TOST) Lowered to Hold at Baird R W

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Baird R W from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Toast from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Toast from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group upped their price objective on Toast from $22.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered Toast from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $28.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI initiated coverage on shares of Toast in a report on Monday, March 4th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $32.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Toast presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $25.80.

Toast Stock Performance

TOST stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $26.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,442,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,194,104. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -53.37 and a beta of 1.77. Toast has a 1 year low of $13.77 and a 1 year high of $27.90. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.30.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of ($0.15). Toast had a negative net margin of 6.02% and a negative return on equity of 21.45%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.16) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Toast will post -0.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Toast news, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.90, for a total transaction of $1,145,000.00. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 25,422 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $582,163.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Aman Narang sold 2,471 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.40, for a total value of $57,821.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,114,454 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,078,223.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.90, for a total transaction of $1,145,000.00. Following the sale, the executive now owns 25,422 shares in the company, valued at approximately $582,163.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 193,010 shares of company stock valued at $4,711,760 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 13.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toast

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Toast by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,677,371 shares of the company's stock worth $669,729,000 after buying an additional 1,598,248 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Toast by 12.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 32,924,082 shares of the company's stock worth $820,468,000 after acquiring an additional 3,574,397 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Toast by 21.4% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 19,524,700 shares of the company's stock worth $486,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,445,788 shares in the last quarter. HMI Capital Management L.P. raised its stake in Toast by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. HMI Capital Management L.P. now owns 15,189,265 shares of the company's stock valued at $277,356,000 after purchasing an additional 808,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in Toast by 149.3% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 12,007,286 shares of the company's stock worth $224,896,000 after purchasing an additional 7,191,595 shares during the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Toast

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.