Toast (NYSE:TOST) Downgraded by Rothschild & Co Redburn to "Hold"

Key Points

• Toast was downgraded by Rothschild & Co Redburn from strong-buy to hold, adding to a mixed analyst picture around the stock.
• The company’s shares were down 3.9% and traded near $23.24, close to their 52-week low of $22.92 and well below the 52-week high of $49.66.
• Toast’s latest earnings showed revenue growth of 22% year over year, but EPS missed estimates at $0.16 versus $0.24 expected, while insiders also reported recent stock sales.

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

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on TOST. Loop Capital initiated coverage on Toast in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $39.00 target price on Toast in a report on Monday, February 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Toast from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Toast from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $37.00 target price on Toast in a report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Toast currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.84.

Toast Trading Down 3.9%

Shares of Toast stock opened at $23.24 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $27.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.47. Toast has a 52 week low of $22.92 and a 52 week high of $49.66. The stock has a market cap of $11.99 billion, a PE ratio of 35.75 and a beta of 1.81.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.08). Toast had a return on equity of 20.86% and a net margin of 6.39%.The business had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.05 earnings per share. Toast's revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Toast will post 0.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Toast announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 3,664 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $95,960.16. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 243,642 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,380,983.98. The trade was a 1.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Stephen Fredette sold 7,289 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $190,898.91. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 920,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,120,597.15. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 39,783 shares of company stock worth $1,041,917 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 12.14% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Toast by 7.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,428,060 shares of the company's stock worth $1,768,256,000 after buying an additional 3,351,545 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Toast by 0.8% during the third 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 last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Toast by 1.0% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Toast by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,372,626 shares of the company's stock worth $368,332,000 after buying an additional 653,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $348,729,000 after buying an additional 282,282 shares during the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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