57,600 Shares in Toast, Inc. $TOST Bought by Chesley Taft & Associates LLC

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC acquired a new position in Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 57,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,602,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayban bought a new stake in shares of Toast during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. SHP Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Toast in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Strive Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Toast during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Silicon Valley Capital Partners purchased a new position in Toast during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in Toast by 2,083.3% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on TOST. Morgan Stanley set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Toast in a report on Friday, May 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $40.00 target price on shares of Toast in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $40.00 price target on Toast in a research report on Wednesday. Zacks Research downgraded Toast from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Toast from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $36.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.62.

Toast Stock Performance

Shares of TOST stock opened at $34.47 on Friday. Toast, Inc. has a one year low of $22.26 and a one year high of $46.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $28.44 and its 200 day moving average is $27.90. The company has a market capitalization of $17.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.19 and a beta of 1.72.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $1.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 23.90% and a net margin of 7.14%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Toast, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Toast

In related news, President Stephen Fredette sold 9,146 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $263,862.10. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 931,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,872,303.65. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 6,352 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.85, for a total transaction of $183,255.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 196,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,680,824.65. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold 333,373 shares of company stock valued at $10,388,372 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.03% of the company’s stock.

Toast News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Toast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raise price targets: BMO Capital Markets lifted its Toast price target to $40, while Needham and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also expressed expectations for meaningful appreciation. These calls reinforce the bullish case following Toast’s growth and improving profitability. BMO Capital Markets Raises Toast Price Target Needham Forecasts Toast Price Appreciation Keefe Bruyette Woods Toast Outlook
• Positive Sentiment: AI and partnership momentum: A report highlights Toast’s AI initiatives and relationships with Google and hotel operators as potential catalysts for expanding its addressable market and strengthening the long-term growth story. Toast AI, Google, and Hotel Partnership Report
• Positive Sentiment: Options activity signals bullish positioning: High trading volume in Toast call options suggests some traders are positioning for additional upside, although options activity is a market signal rather than a change in fundamentals. Toast High Call Option Volume
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed quarterly results: Toast exceeded revenue expectations, reporting $1.91 billion, up 23.1% year over year, but adjusted earnings per share fell short of consensus estimates. The revenue growth supports the bull case, while the earnings miss raises questions about execution and near-term margins. Toast Second Quarter Sales Report
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: A Seeking Alpha analysis recommended trimming the position, arguing that Toast’s valuation could become difficult to justify if growth or profitability slows. This is a risk after the stock’s recent rally. Toast Valuation Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Executives sell shares: CEO Aman Narang sold approximately $4.9 million of Toast stock, while the CFO and CRO also sold shares. Because the transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, they may reflect scheduled diversification rather than diminished confidence, but the volume can still weigh on sentiment.

About Toast

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.