Toast (NYSE:TOST) Stock Jumps 9.3% – Time to Buy?

Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST)’s stock price traded up 9.3% during mid-day trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $34.41 and last traded at $34.6210. 2,962,387 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 10,795,650 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on TOST. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Toast from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, October 4th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Toast from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Toast from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Toast from $36.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Canaccord Genuity Group set a $40.00 price objective on Toast in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.11.

Toast Stock Up 7.7%

The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.40. The company has a market capitalization of $17.54 billion, a PE ratio of 43.75 and a beta of 1.74.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.06). Toast had a return on equity of 23.90% and a net margin of 7.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Toast, Inc. will post 1.00 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Aman Narang sold 124,542 shares of Toast stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.29, for a total transaction of $4,395,087.18. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 175,458 shares in the company, valued at $6,191,912.82. This trade represents a 41.51% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Elena Gomez sold 16,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.29, for a total value of $570,851.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 168,974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,963,092.46. The trade was a 8.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 520,550 shares of company stock valued at $18,096,931 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 10.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Toast by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $355,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Americana Partners LLC raised its position in Toast by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Americana Partners LLC now owns 11,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 422 shares during the last quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Toast by 10.0% during the third quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust now owns 5,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Toast by 16.9% in the 3rd quarter. Toth Financial Advisory Corp now owns 3,561 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,000 after buying an additional 516 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Toast by 15.6% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 539 shares during the period. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Toast

Toast, Inc (NYSE:TOST) provides a cloud-based technology platform designed for restaurants. Its integrated system combines point-of-sale software and hardware with payment processing, helping restaurants manage sales, orders, menus, guest interactions and day-to-day operations from a unified platform.

The company offers products and services including online ordering, delivery management, digital ordering and payment tools, restaurant websites, gift cards, loyalty programs, marketing, labor management, payroll, inventory management, reporting and analytics.