Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Toast (NYSE:TOST) Stock

Toast (NYSE:TOST) had its target price hoisted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $46.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 24.68% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on TOST. Compass Point initiated coverage on Toast in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $49.00 price objective on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Toast in a research report on Thursday. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $44.00) on shares of Toast in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Toast from $28.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Toast in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Toast has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $37.86.

Toast Stock Performance

Shares of TOST stock opened at $40.10 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -308.48, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.30. Toast has a twelve month low of $20.49 and a twelve month high of $44.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Toast

In other news, President Stephen Fredette sold 1,068 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.63, for a total transaction of $42,324.84. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 1,644,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,177,717.28. This trade represents a 0.06 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Elena Gomez sold 2,052 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 $81,320.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 160,498 shares in the company, valued at $6,360,535.74. The trade was a 1.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 339,564 shares of company stock valued at $13,577,845. 13.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toast

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Toast by 120.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank bought a new stake in Toast during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Toast in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Toast in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Toast during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 82.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Toast Company Profile

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.