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 price target hoisted by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC from $50.00 to $60.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the stock. Needham & Company LLC's price target would suggest a potential upside of 39.11% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms also recently commented on TOST. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Toast in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Toast from $40.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Toast from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Toast from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Toast from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $45.54.

Toast Stock Down 5.4%

Toast stock traded down $2.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.13. The stock had a trading volume of 9,038,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,326,806. The firm has a market cap of $22.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 126.85 and a beta of 2.01. Toast has a 52-week low of $22.91 and a 52-week high of $49.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $44.68 and a 200 day moving average of $39.98.

Toast (NYSE:TOST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $1.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.52 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 4.07%. Toast's revenue was up 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.02 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Toast will post 0.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Toast

In other Toast news, Director Paul D. Bell sold 11,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.13, for a total value of $496,430.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 229,680 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,365,458.40. The trade was a 4.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Aman Narang sold 13,829 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.59, for a total transaction of $588,977.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 302,498 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,883,389.82. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 474,054 shares of company stock valued at $20,432,166 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.32% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Toast during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Toast in the 1st quarter valued at $34,000. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Toast by 173.3% during the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 798 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its holdings in shares of Toast by 57.1% during the first quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 1,100 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Branch Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Toast by 862.1% in the first quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 1,116 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.