Toast (NYSE:TOST) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $41.06 and last traded at $41.01, with a volume of 2138291 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Toast from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Stephens increased their price target on Toast from $28.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $30.00 price objective on shares of Toast in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Toast from $29.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Toast from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.75.

Toast Stock Up 6.7 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $29.75 and a 200 day moving average of $26.57.

Insider Activity at Toast

In related news, President Stephen Fredette sold 101,574 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.73, for a total value of $2,613,499.02. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 2,395,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $61,640,975.05. This represents a 4.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard Kent Bennett sold 100,000 shares of Toast stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.67, for a total value of $3,667,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 418,591 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,349,731.97. This represents a 19.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,475,651 shares of company stock valued at $43,037,212 over the last 90 days. 13.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Toast

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. West Branch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Toast during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Toast in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Toth Financial Advisory Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Toast during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Toast in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Toast during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.