DoorDash Inc. (DASH) shares are experiencing a surge on Wednesday, driven by a positive upgrade from KeyBanc and a favorable legal ruling. KeyBanc analyst Justin Patterson upgraded DoorDash from ‘Sector Weight’ to ‘Overweight’ and set a price target of $177, adding to a string of bullish sentiment surrounding the company. Over the past week, other firms like Raymond James and Cantor Fitzgerald have also issued positive updates, with Raymond James reinstating DoorDash with an ‘Outperform’ rating and a $155 price target, and Cantor Fitzgerald reiterating an ‘Overweight’ rating and a $160 price target. Last week, BTIG joined the chorus with an upgrade from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Buy’ and a $155 price target.
The bullish momentum also seems to be fueled by a significant legal victory for DoorDash and other food delivery companies. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres ruled that a New York City law requiring food delivery platforms to share customer data with restaurants was unconstitutional. This ruling marks a win for privacy advocates and underscores the potential impact of regulations on the industry.
The New York City law, implemented in 2021, aimed to support restaurants’ recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic by requiring food delivery companies to share customer names, addresses, email, and phone numbers. Delivery companies challenged the law, arguing it violated customer privacy rights and posed a threat to data security. Judge Torres sided with the delivery companies, determining that the city failed to demonstrate a compelling interest in requiring data sharing.
DoorDash hailed the decision, stating that it “rightly recognized how this law would have violated bedrock First Amendment rights of how we protect New Yorkers’ data.” This victory reinforces DoorDash’s commitment to customer privacy and data protection.
DoorDash shares were up 2.70% at $145.50 at the time of publication. The positive outlook from analysts, coupled with the favorable court ruling, suggests a strong trajectory for DoorDash in the coming months.
