Toast (NYSE:TOST) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Toast (NYSE:TOST) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

TOST has been the subject of several other reports. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Toast in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Toast from $43.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Toast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Toast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 target price on shares of Toast in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Toast presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $37.84.

Toast Stock Performance

TOST stock opened at $24.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $26.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.40. Toast has a 52-week low of $22.26 and a 52-week high of $49.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.74 and a beta of 1.81.

Toast declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $95,960.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 243,642 shares in the company, valued at $6,380,983.98. The trade was a 1.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Aman Narang sold 13,463 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 transaction of $352,595.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 54,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,414,600.47. The trade was a 19.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 39,783 shares of company stock worth $1,041,917 over the last 90 days. 12.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Toast in the 1st quarter worth approximately $78,000. Royal Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Toast by 29.4% in the 1st quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,060,000 after acquiring an additional 9,089 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Toast by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,866,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,003,000 after acquiring an additional 465,006 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in Toast by 88.4% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 189,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,020,000 after purchasing an additional 88,858 shares during the period. Finally, Cim LLC grew its position in Toast by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Cim LLC now owns 41,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,091,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the period. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Toast Company Profile

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.