Toast (NYSE:TOST) Price Target Raised to $54.00 at Canaccord Genuity Group

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley has raised the price target for Toast (NYSE: TOST) from $50.00 to $54.00, suggesting a potential upside of 12.95% from its current price, with an "overweight" rating on the stock.
• Toast reported a 24.8% increase in revenue year-over-year, reaching $1.55 billion, but fell short of earnings expectations with $0.13 EPS against a consensus estimate of $0.23.
• Insider transactions include significant sales by CFO Elena Gomez and Director Paul D. Bell, with insiders collectively selling 466,131 shares worth over $20 million in the last 90 days.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Canaccord Genuity Group from $48.00 to $54.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Canaccord Genuity Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on TOST. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Toast from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $44.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of Toast from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Toast from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Toast in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Toast from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $45.54.

Toast Stock Performance

Toast stock traded down $1.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $44.39. 6,430,906 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,303,552. The company's 50-day moving average is $44.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.89. The firm has a market cap of $22.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.55 and a beta of 2.01. Toast has a 52-week low of $22.27 and a 52-week high of $49.66.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.10). Toast had a return on equity of 14.81% and a net margin of 4.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.52 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.02 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Toast will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Toast

In related news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 2,006 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.38, for a total transaction of $97,050.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 141,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,834,303.94. The trade was a 1.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, President Stephen Fredette sold 1,720 shares of Toast stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.38, for a total transaction of $83,213.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 890,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $43,097,774.84. This trade represents a 0.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 474,054 shares of company stock worth $20,432,166. Insiders own 13.32% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Toast by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,945,584 shares of the company's stock worth $1,457,675,000 after acquiring an additional 1,471,352 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Toast by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 41,961,233 shares of the company's stock worth $1,529,657,000 after purchasing an additional 785,641 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Toast by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,454,209 shares of the company's stock valued at $777,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,490,686 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Toast by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,520,360 shares of the company's stock worth $514,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082,958 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in Toast by 331.0% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 8,601,887 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,978,000 after buying an additional 6,606,245 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.91% of the company's stock.

Toast Company 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.