Toast upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein

Bernstein analyst Harshita Rawat on Friday upgraded Toast (TOST) to Outperform from Market Perform with an unchanged price target of $39. The stock is down 26% year-to-ate and over 34% in the last year due to the “significant de-rating” within the software space and competitive concerns, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Bernstein, however, believes Toast is “one of the highest quality names to own” within the payments sector. The company has an “unusual” software “moat” within the traditionally competitive restaurant payments space, contends the firm. It views the company as an AI winner, not a loser.