Toast (NYSE:TOST) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $26.03, but opened at $27.47. Toast shares last traded at $27.8550, with a volume of 6,168,642 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on TOST. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Toast from $40.00 to $34.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on Toast in a research report on Friday, May 8th. DA Davidson lowered their price objective on Toast from $33.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Toast from $45.00 to $38.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Toast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Toast presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.84.

Toast Trading Down 4.8%

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.16. The company has a market cap of $13.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.61 and a beta of 1.76.

Toast announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 8,929 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $233,850.51. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 173,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,532,546.16. The trade was a 4.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Stephen Fredette sold 7,289 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.19, for a total value of $190,898.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 920,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,120,597.15. This trade represents a 0.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 147,783 shares of company stock worth $3,838,037. 10.03% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bayban acquired a new position in shares of Toast in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. SHP Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of Toast in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Toast in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division increased its stake in shares of Toast by 123.5% in the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 521 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners purchased a new position in shares of Toast in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

Toast Company Profile

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.