Toast (NYSE:TOST) Upgraded at Sanford C. Bernstein

Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Toast (NYSE:TOST) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on TOST. Morgan Stanley set a $51.00 price objective on shares of Toast in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group set a $35.00 price target on Toast in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Toast from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Toast in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Toast from $51.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.18.

Toast Stock Up 4.2%

NYSE:TOST opened at $27.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a PE ratio of 50.44 and a beta of 1.93. Toast has a 52-week low of $25.91 and a 52-week high of $49.66. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.12.

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

Toast announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 12th that allows the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Aman Narang sold 8,591 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.38, for a total value of $295,358.58. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 338,850 shares in the company, valued at $11,649,663. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, President Stephen Fredette sold 4,866 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 transaction of $167,293.08. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 910,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $31,306,634.28. This trade represents a 0.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 100,856 shares of company stock worth $3,540,449 in the last three months. Company insiders own 12.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Toast

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

Key Toast News

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.

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.