Toast (NYSE:TOST) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Barclays

Toast (NYSE:TOST) was upgraded by research analysts at Barclays to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

TOST has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price target on Toast in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of Toast in a report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Toast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Loop Capital began coverage on shares of Toast in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $26.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Toast from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company 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 given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Toast has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.59.

Toast Price Performance

NYSE TOST opened at $28.82 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $25.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $28.47. Toast has a 1 year low of $22.26 and a 1 year high of $49.66. The company has a market cap of $14.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.34 and a beta of 1.74.

Insider Activity at Toast

In other Toast news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 11,605 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 $334,804.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 185,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,341,577.50. The trade was a 5.90% 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. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 6,647 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $191,765.95. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 69,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,018,519.10. This trade represents a 8.68% 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 sold 159,265 shares of company stock valued at $4,278,832 in the last 90 days. 10.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of TOST. Bayban purchased a new position in Toast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Toast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Toast in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its position in Toast by 123.5% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 943 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners acquired a new position in Toast during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

More Toast News

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.