Toast (NYSE:TOST) Hits New 52-Week Low Following Weak Earnings

Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) shares reached a new 52-week low on Thursday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $26.37 and last traded at $26.2070, with a volume of 4870684 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $28.02.

The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.63 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.62 billion. Toast had a net margin of 5.56% and a return on equity of 18.86%. The business’s revenue was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.05 EPS.

Toast declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 12th that permits the company to buyback $0.00 in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Headlines Impacting Toast

Here are the key news stories impacting Toast this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Revenue and growth: Q4 revenue was $1.63B, up ~22% year-over-year and roughly in line with consensus, signaling sustained top-line momentum that supports longer‑term ARR expansion. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains: Major firms (Citigroup and Needham) kept “Buy” ratings even after trimming targets, which can limit downside from negative headlines and signals continued institutional conviction. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Board authorizes buyback: The company announced a share-repurchase authorization; the report listed $0.00 in buyback dollars (no dollar amount disclosed), so the move signals intent but lacks immediate capital deployment details. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary: Bullish analyst/guest pieces argue Toast’s ARR growth, margin expansion and industry position make it resilient amid sector pressures — helpful for sentiment but not new financial data. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EPS miss: Toast reported EPS below consensus ($0.16 reported vs. ~$0.24 expected per consensus), which is an earnings disappointment that likely pressured some short‑term investor sentiment. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Price target cuts: Citigroup cut its target from $51 to $42 and Needham trimmed theirs from $60 to $35 — reductions that reduce analyst-derived upside even though both maintained Buy ratings. Read More. Read More.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised Toast from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Toast from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $43.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of Toast from $60.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Toast from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised Toast from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.18.

Insider Activity

In other Toast news, CEO Aman Narang sold 1,648 shares of Toast stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total value of $50,000.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 340,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,337,535.82. This trade represents a 0.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, General Counsel Brian R. Elworthy sold 3,303 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.38, for a total value of $113,557.14. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 235,757 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,105,325.66. The trade was a 1.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 100,856 shares of company stock valued at $3,540,449. Company insiders own 12.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Toast

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of TOST. Quent Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Toast during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. RiverPark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Toast during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Toast during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in Toast by 123.5% during the 4th quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 943 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 521 shares during the period. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners bought a new stake in Toast during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.91% of the company’s stock.

Toast Stock Up 4.2%

The firm has a market cap of $16.01 billion, a PE ratio of 50.44 and a beta of 1.93. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.28.

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.