Toast (NYSE:TOST) Upgraded at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Toast (NYSE:TOST) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Toast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Toast from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Toast from $36.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Toast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn restated a “neutral” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on shares of Toast in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.59.

Toast Trading Up 0.9%

Toast stock opened at $28.82 on Tuesday. Toast has a 12-month low of $22.26 and a 12-month high of $49.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.34 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $25.68 and a 200 day moving average of $28.47.

Insider Transactions at Toast

In related news, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 6,647 shares of Toast stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $191,765.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 69,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,018,519.10. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO Aman Narang sold 14,365 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total value of $414,430.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 70,451 shares in the company, valued at $2,032,511.35. The trade was a 16.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 159,265 shares of company stock worth $4,278,832 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Toast by 843.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,307,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,888,000 after purchasing an additional 1,168,539 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Toast by 285.3% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 288,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,237,000 after buying an additional 213,459 shares during the period. Capelight Capital Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Toast during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,131,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its stake in Toast by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 972,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,524,000 after acquiring an additional 57,512 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lecap Asset Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Toast by 206.7% during the fourth quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 59,123 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,099,000 after acquiring an additional 39,847 shares in the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Toast News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Toast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs upgraded Toast (TOST) to Buy, citing new products and market expansion as drivers of longer-term growth. Toast upgraded to Buy at Goldman Sachs on new product and market expansion efforts
• Neutral Sentiment: Toast remains in focus after several insider sales were disclosed, including a recent sale by CRO Jonathan Vassil under a pre-arranged trading plan, which may add some caution but does not necessarily signal a change in business fundamentals.
• Neutral Sentiment: A broader payments-industry article noted that bank efforts to own more of the debit-network infrastructure could reshape competition across merchant payments, an indirect theme for Toast’s competitive landscape. Fiserv’s Debit Network Talks Raise a Bigger Question for Visa and Mastercard (TOST)
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Toast (TOST) from Strong-Buy to Hold, which signals some near-term skepticism after the stock’s recent run. Zacks.com

About Toast

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.