** RBC Capital Markets upgrades bank tech provider Jack Henry & Associates JKHY.O to "outperform" from "sector perform"

** Brokerage says JKHY is poised to win more business from rivals as Fiserv FISV.O is consolidating its core platforms

** Fiserv is consolidating its 16 core platforms down to five, affecting ~1,400 clients, brokerage says, as the co deals with fierce competition

** JKHY boosted R&D spending to about 14–15% of revenue from FY22 to FY25 up roughly 13% from FY 17 to FY21, helping it cement its position as a tech leader and driving record sales bookings in five of the past eight quarters, brokerage says

** Meanwhile, brokerage raises PT to $210 from $185 which is a 11.9% upside to the stock's last close

** 7 of 17 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher, 10 "hold"; median PT is $187 — data compiled by LSEG

** As of last close, JKHY up 7% YTD

(Reporting by Pragyan Kalita in Bengaluru)

((Pragyan.Kalita@thomsonreuters.com))