Wall Street Zen Upgrades Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) to “Hold”

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on SBUX. Loop Capital set a $165.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Baird R W upgraded Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Citigroup dropped their target price on Starbucks from $84.00 to $83.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.44.

Starbucks Stock Up 3.3%

Shares of NASDAQ SBUX opened at $85.35 on Friday. Starbucks has a 52 week low of $75.50 and a 52 week high of $117.46. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $83.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.66. The firm has a market cap of $97.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.02.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The coffee company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 31.84% and a net margin of 4.99%.The business had revenue of $9.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Starbucks will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jorgen Vig Knudstorp purchased 11,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $85.00 per share, with a total value of $994,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 53,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,513,160. The trade was a 28.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SBUX. Game Plan Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Starbucks in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Transce3nd LLC grew its stake in Starbucks by 270.3% during the 2nd quarter. Transce3nd LLC now owns 274 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of coffee worldwide. The company operates through three segments: North America, International, and Channel Development. Its stores offer coffee and tea beverages, roasted whole beans and ground coffees, single serve products, and ready-to-drink beverages; and various food products, such as pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and lunch items.