Toast (NYSE:TOST) Cut to Market Perform at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Toast (NYSE:TOST) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. Sanford C. Bernstein currently has $38.00 price objective on the stock, down from their prior price objective of $45.00.

TOST has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Toast from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $40.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Toast in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Toast from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Toast in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.46.

Toast Stock Performance

Shares of Toast stock opened at $34.66 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a PE ratio of 38.09 and a beta of 1.74. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.43. Toast has a 52-week low of $22.26 and a 52-week high of $37.58.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.97 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 26.39% and a net margin of 7.69%. The company’s revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Toast will post 1.08 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Toast news, CEO Aman Narang sold 14,713 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.35, for a total transaction of $431,826.55. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,543 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,540,037.05. This represents a 14.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 85,280 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.34, for a total transaction of $3,099,075.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive owned 69,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,542,564.44. This represents a 54.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 202,818 shares of company stock valued at $6,843,170 in the last ninety days. 10.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Toast by 36.9% during the third quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc. now owns 10,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 2,707 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Toast by 22.4% during the third quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 11,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Toast by 6.8% in the third quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 432,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,551,000 after buying an additional 27,687 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Toast in the third quarter valued at approximately $294,000. Finally, Gamco Investors INC. ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Toast in the third quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 82.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Toast

These are some of the TOST stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Great Harvest partnered with Toast to streamline operations across more than 150 bakery-cafés, deploying Toast’s point-of-sale, handheld and kitchen technologies. The deal adds a customer and could support Toast’s growth as the chain expands. Great Harvest partnership
• Positive Sentiment: Truist raised its price target to $40 from $38 and reiterated a Buy rating, signaling continued upside potential in the analyst’s view. Truist price target
• Negative Sentiment: Bernstein downgraded Toast to Market Perform from Outperform and cut its price target to $38 from $45. The more cautious rating and lower target may weigh on sentiment. Bernstein downgrade

Toast Company Profile

Toast, Inc. provides a cloud-based technology platform designed for restaurants. Its products combine point-of-sale software and hardware with payment processing, helping restaurants manage in-person transactions and day-to-day operations. The platform includes tools for online ordering, delivery, marketing, customer loyalty, payroll, and team management, alongside features for managing menus and restaurant operations. Restaurants can use Toast’s products together or select services to fit their needs.