Toast (NYSE:TOST) Price Target Raised to $60.00

Key Points

• Research analysts at Needham & Company LLC have raised Toast's target price from $50.00 to $60.00, indicating a potential upside of 25.50% from the current price.
• Toast's recent earnings report showed a missed EPS estimate of $0.13, falling short of the consensus of $0.23, despite a revenue increase of 24.8% year-over-year.
• Significant insider transactions have occurred, with General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy selling 300,000 shares, representing a 58.12% decrease in his position.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $50.00 to $60.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 25.50% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Toast from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Toast in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Wolfe Research raised shares of Toast from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $44.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Toast from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Toast in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. They set a "buy" rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.33.

Toast Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:TOST opened at $47.81 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $23.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 207.87 and a beta of 2.01. Toast has a 12-month low of $22.10 and a 12-month high of $49.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $44.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.85.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.10). Toast had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 3.04%. The company had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.02 earnings per share. Toast's revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Toast will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 300,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.60, for a total value of $12,780,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 216,156 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,245.60. This represents a 58.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paul D. Bell sold 11,000 shares of Toast stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.13, for a total transaction of $496,430.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 229,680 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,365,458.40. This represents a 4.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 466,131 shares of company stock worth $20,048,851 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 13.32% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Toast by 3.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 43,945,584 shares of the company's stock worth $1,457,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,471,352 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Toast by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 41,961,233 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,529,657,000 after purchasing an additional 785,641 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Toast by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 23,454,209 shares of the company's stock worth $777,978,000 after buying an additional 3,490,686 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,082,958 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of 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. 82.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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