Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Toast (NYSE:TOST) Stock

Toast (NYSE:TOST) had its price target increased by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “sector perform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 19.42% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on TOST. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Toast from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group boosted their price objective on shares of Toast from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Toast from $35.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Toast from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Toast from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.23.

Toast Stock Performance

NYSE TOST opened at $37.68 on Thursday. Toast has a 52-week low of $20.57 and a 52-week high of $44.12. The company has a market capitalization of $17.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -3,764.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.60 and a 200-day moving average of $33.44.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.06 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 1.54% and a net margin of 0.40%. As a group, analysts forecast that Toast will post 0.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 653 shares of Toast 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 $25,878.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 209,206 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,290,833.78. The trade was a 0.31 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David Yuan sold 189,785 shares of Toast stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.01, for a total transaction of $8,162,652.85. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 198,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,551,635.29. This trade represents a 48.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 339,564 shares of company stock valued at $13,577,845 in the last three months. 13.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Toast by 120.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 692 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Toast in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Toast in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Toast in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Toast in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

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.