Needham & Company LLC Reiterates Buy Rating for Toast (NYSE:TOST)

Toast (NYSE:TOST)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 24.68% from the stock’s previous close.

TOST has been the subject of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Toast from $29.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Toast from $27.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. BNP Paribas cut Toast from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $37.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $38.00 price objective (down previously from $44.00) on shares of Toast in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Toast from $25.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.00.

Toast Stock Down 4.3 %

NYSE:TOST opened at $40.10 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $38.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.30. The stock has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a P/E ratio of -308.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.98. Toast has a twelve month low of $20.49 and a twelve month high of $44.12.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.06 by ($0.01). Toast had a negative net margin of 1.05% and a negative return on equity of 3.84%. On average, analysts expect that Toast will post 0.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Toast

In related news, Director Christopher P. Comparato sold 145,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.04, for a total value of $5,225,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 182,451 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,575,534.04. This trade represents a 44.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 653 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.63, for a total value of $25,878.39. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 209,206 shares in the company, valued at $8,290,833.78. The trade was a 0.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 339,564 shares of company stock valued at $13,577,845 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 13.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Toast by 93.4% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Toast by 1.6% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 28,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Toast by 2,731.0% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 95,971 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,717,000 after acquiring an additional 92,581 shares during the last quarter. Taylor Frigon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Toast during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,277,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Toast by 2,889.8% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,829,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,427,000 after purchasing an additional 3,701,893 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

About Toast

Toast, Inc operates a cloud-based digital technology platform for the restaurant industry in the United States, Ireland, and India. The company offers software products for restaurant operations and point of sale, such as Toast POS, Toast now, multi-location management, kitchen display system, Toast mobile order and pay, Toast catering and events, Toast invoicing, Toast tables, and restaurant retail; and hardware products, including Toast flex, Toast flex for guest, Toast go 2, Toast tap, kiosks, and Delphi by Toast.