Toast (NYSE:TOST) Trading Up 7.3% on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Toast, Inc. (NYSE:TOST) were up 7.3% during trading on Friday after Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $28.38 and last traded at $28.0460. Approximately 7,263,900 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 37% from the average daily volume of 11,512,663 shares. The stock had previously closed at $26.14.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Toast from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $43.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Toast from $42.00 to $36.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial set a $42.00 price objective on Toast in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Stephens set a $42.00 target price on Toast in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Toast from $51.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Toast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.18.

Insider Activity

In other Toast news, CFO Elena Gomez sold 6,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.38, for a total value of $229,383.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 162,153 shares in the company, valued at $5,574,820.14. This trade represents a 3.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Jonathan Vassil sold 66,390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.86, for a total value of $2,380,745.40. Following the sale, the executive owned 84,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,033,361.54. This represents a 43.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,856 shares of company stock valued at $3,540,449. Corporate insiders own 12.14% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toast

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Capital International Investors increased its position in Toast by 7.4% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 48,428,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,768,256,000 after buying an additional 3,351,545 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Toast by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,764,157 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,634,339,000 after acquiring an additional 352,435 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Toast by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 15,157,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $538,259,000 after acquiring an additional 157,394 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Toast by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,372,626 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,332,000 after purchasing an additional 653,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Toast by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,820,594 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,729,000 after purchasing an additional 282,282 shares during the last quarter. 82.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Toast Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.44 and a beta of 1.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $37.20.

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by ($0.08). Toast had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 5.56%.The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.05 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Toast, Inc. will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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.