Toast (NYSE:TOST) Price Target Raised to $45.00

Toast (NYSE:TOST) had its target price hoisted by Needham & Company LLC from $35.00 to $45.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on TOST. Truist Financial upped their price target on Toast from $30.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Piper Sandler began coverage on Toast in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $32.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of Toast in a research note on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Toast from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Toast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.62.

Toast Stock Performance

TOST stock opened at $34.47 on Wednesday. Toast has a fifty-two week low of $22.26 and a fifty-two week high of $46.11. The business’s 50-day moving average is $28.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.90. The company has a market cap of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.19 and a beta of 1.72.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 23.90% and a net margin of 7.14%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.13 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Toast will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Toast

In other Toast news, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 108,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.89, for a total transaction of $2,796,120.00. Following the sale, the general counsel owned 189,642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,909,831.38. This trade represents a 36.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 14,280 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.89, for a total transaction of $469,669.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 69,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,301,181.74. This represents a 16.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 333,373 shares of company stock worth $10,388,372 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 10.03% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ballast Inc. purchased a new position in Toast during the 2nd quarter worth $214,000. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Toast during the 2nd quarter valued at about $345,000. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. raised its stake in Toast by 138.8% in the second quarter. Arkfeld Wealth Strategies L.L.C. now owns 264,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,807,000 after buying an additional 153,928 shares during the last quarter. Stonekeep Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Toast in the second quarter valued at about $208,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its holdings in Toast by 12.0% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 151,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,215,000 after acquiring an additional 16,200 shares in the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Toast

Here are the key news stories impacting Toast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raise price targets: BMO Capital Markets lifted its Toast price target to $40, while Needham and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also expressed expectations for meaningful appreciation. These calls reinforce the bullish case following Toast’s growth and improving profitability. BMO Capital Markets Raises Toast Price Target Needham Forecasts Toast Price Appreciation Keefe Bruyette Woods Toast Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI and partnership momentum: A report highlights Toast’s AI initiatives and relationships with Google and hotel operators as potential catalysts for expanding its addressable market and strengthening the long-term growth story. Toast AI, Google, and Hotel Partnership Report
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity signals bullish positioning: High trading volume in Toast call options suggests some traders are positioning for additional upside, although options activity is a market signal rather than a change in fundamentals. Toast High Call Option Volume
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed quarterly results: Toast exceeded revenue expectations, reporting $1.91 billion, up 23.1% year over year, but adjusted earnings per share fell short of consensus estimates. The revenue growth supports the bull case, while the earnings miss raises questions about execution and near-term margins. Toast Second Quarter Sales Report
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: A Seeking Alpha analysis recommended trimming the position, arguing that Toast’s valuation could become difficult to justify if growth or profitability slows. This is a risk after the stock’s recent rally. Toast Valuation Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Executives sell shares: CEO Aman Narang sold approximately $4.9 million of Toast stock, while the CFO and CRO also sold shares. Because the transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, they may reflect scheduled diversification rather than diminished confidence, but the volume can still weigh on sentiment.

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.