What Happened?
A number of stocks fell in the afternoon session after fears of disruption from artificial intelligence spooked investors, leading to a broad-based sell-off.
The market witnessed a "basket-style reaction," a term for when investors reduce exposure to an entire segment without differentiating between individual company business models. The negative sentiment was widespread, pulling down all of the Magnificent Seven stocks and sending the S&P 500 Information Technology Sector down nearly 3%.
The stock market overreacts to news, and big price drops can present good opportunities to buy high-quality stocks.
Among others, the following stocks were impacted:
- Hospitality & Restaurant Software company Toast (NYSE: TOST) fell 9.7%. Is now the time to buy Toast? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Design Software company Autodesk (NASDAQ: ADSK) fell 5.6%. Is now the time to buy Autodesk? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Communications Platform company Bandwidth (NASDAQ: BAND) fell 6.1%. Is now the time to buy Bandwidth? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- E-commerce Software company GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY) fell 6.5%. Is now the time to buy GoDaddy? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
- Network Security company Palo Alto Networks (NASDAQ: PANW) fell 6.2%. Is now the time to buy Palo Alto Networks? Access our full analysis report here, it’s free.
Zooming In On Toast (TOST)
Toast’s shares are very volatile and have had 20 moves greater than 5% over the last year. In that context, today’s move indicates the market considers this news meaningful but not something that would fundamentally change its perception of the business.
The previous big move we wrote about was 12 days ago when the stock gained 2.7% on the news that reports of easing geopolitical tensions in Greenland boosted investor sentiment.
The relief rally saw major indices, including the S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, rebound as investors moved back into riskier assets. This positive shift was reflected across the technology landscape, with all of the Magnificent Seven tech firms seeing their shares climb. The easing of international friction reduced market uncertainty, which often encourages investment in growth-oriented sectors like technology. The move was part of a broader market upswing, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average adding 500 points, signaling increased investor confidence.
Toast is down 15.9% since the beginning of the year, and at $28.60 per share, it is trading 42% below its 52-week high of $49.30 from August 2025. Investors who bought $1,000 worth of Toast’s shares at the IPO in September 2021 would now be looking at an investment worth $457.56.
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