Needham & Company LLC Cuts Toast (NYSE:TOST) Price Target to $35.00

Toast (NYSE:TOST) had its price objective lowered by Needham & Company LLC from $60.00 to $35.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stephens set a $42.00 target price on Toast in a report on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Toast from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, December 1st. Evercore upgraded shares of Toast from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $40.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Toast in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $45.00 price objective on shares of Toast in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Toast has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.18.

Toast Trading Up 4.2%

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

Toast (NYSE:TOST) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.24 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.62 billion. Toast had a return on equity of 18.86% and a net margin of 5.56%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.05 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Toast will post 0.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Toast declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, February 12th that permits the company to repurchase $0.00 in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Stephen Fredette sold 1,060 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total value of $32,160.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 913,067 shares in the company, valued at $27,702,452.78. This represents a 0.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Elena Gomez sold 1,437 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.34, for a total transaction of $43,598.58. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 164,629 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,994,843.86. This represents a 0.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 100,856 shares of company stock valued at $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 made changes to their positions in TOST. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Toast by 2,432.8% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,215,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $299,957,000 after acquiring an additional 7,891,383 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in Toast by 331.0% during the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 8,601,887 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,978,000 after purchasing an additional 6,606,245 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Toast during the fourth quarter worth about $202,808,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Toast by 108.3% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,887,409 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,333,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100,104 shares during the period. Finally, ValueAct Holdings L.P. acquired a new position in Toast in the 3rd quarter valued at about $124,032,000. 82.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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.