Toast TOST Tumbles 1.51% Amid Record $350M Volume Surge to 253rd Market Rank as Insiders and Institutions Shift Stakes

On August 18, 2025, Toast (TOST) traded with a 1.51% decline, closing at $42.50. The stock saw a 76.87% surge in trading volume to $350 million, ranking 253rd in market activity. Institutional and insider activity dominated the week’s news, with significant implications for investor sentiment and market dynamics.

A Rule 144 filing revealed the sale of 124,509 Class A shares by Christopher P. Comparato, a former insider, through Fidelity Brokerage Services. The transaction, valued at $5.37 million, follows multiple prior sales totaling 688,527 shares between June and August 2025. While the filing complies with SEC requirements and discloses no material nonpublic information, the cumulative insider disposals may signal cautious positioning by key stakeholders.

Institutional ownership of TOST remains robust, with Resona Asset Management and RMR Capital Management increasing stakes in the first quarter. Resona’s holdings grew by 12%, and RMR added $275,000 in new investments. Vanguard and Principal Financial Group also hold significant shares, collectively owning over 82% of the company’s stock. Analysts have maintained a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” rating and a revised average target price of $45.54, reflecting confidence in Toast’s long-term growth despite recent earnings misses.

Insider sales further shaped the week’s narrative. General Counsel Brian Elworthy sold 300,000 shares, reducing his ownership by 58.12%, while CRO Jonathan Vassil offloaded 1,427 shares. These transactions, disclosed via SEC filings, highlight mixed signals from management. Meanwhile, hedge funds like SBI Securities and Piscataqua Savings Bank adjusted their positions, with some trimming holdings and others boosting stakes, underscoring divergent views on near-term valuation.

Backtesting a high-volume trading strategy from 2022 to 2025 showed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.98%, with a peak drawdown of 15.46% in mid-2023. The strategy demonstrated steady returns but emphasized the need for risk mitigation amid market volatility, particularly in mid-2023 when significant losses were recorded.