Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Raises Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 1,987.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 728,623 shares of the coffee company’s stock after purchasing an additional 693,722 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $61,357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Starbucks by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 113,438,902 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $9,596,931,000 after buying an additional 577,279 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 85,460,350 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,229,968,000 after acquiring an additional 8,774,198 shares during the period. Capital World Investors boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 1.9% in the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 77,720,137 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $6,575,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,462,874 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Starbucks by 1.2% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,513,332 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,353,647,000 after purchasing an additional 544,534 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,691,772 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,243,104,000 after purchasing an additional 2,699,479 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on SBUX. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 price objective (up from $100.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Friday, January 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. William Blair upgraded Starbucks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $90.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating and issued a $113.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $103.81.

Starbucks Price Performance

Starbucks stock opened at $91.98 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $96.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.66. The company has a market capitalization of $104.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.93. Starbucks Corporation has a 12-month low of $75.50 and a 12-month high of $104.82.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The coffee company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by ($0.03). Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 28.66% and a net margin of 3.63%.The business had revenue of $9.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.150-2.400 EPS. Analysts forecast that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $58,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 86,017 shares in the company, valued at $8,601,700. The trade was a 0.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $242,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 59,609 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,789,226.08. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,729 shares of company stock valued at $460,974. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Starbucks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DBS upgraded Starbucks, which can support near-term buying interest from momentum and growth-focused investors. Starbucks Upgraded at Dbs Bank
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage arguing Starbucks is regaining its “third‑place” hospitality edge highlights a path to same-store sales and margin recovery if execution continues. “The Power of Hospitality”: Starbucks Stock Gains
• Positive Sentiment: Analyses arguing SBUX may be an undervalued dividend/long‑term play under new leadership (ex‑Chipotle CEO hire) can attract income and value buyers. Is Starbucks Stock an Undervalued Dividend Stock to Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Quarterly recaps note Starbucks posted a revenue beat but missed EPS expectations — mixed fundamentals that explain volatile trading as investors weigh top‑line strength vs. margin pressure. Q4 Earnings Highlights: Starbucks Vs The Rest
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple short‑interest updates show reported spikes but contain zero/NaN figures — the data appears erroneous; unclear shorting pressure based on the current reports. (No external link)
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Brian Niccol’s comment that the chain “ran like a manufacturing facility” was framed as an admission of past execution problems — this highlights operational issues that could press margins while turnaround work continues. Starbucks CEO admits the chain ‘ran like a manufacturing facility’
• Negative Sentiment: Critical pieces and analyst commentary questioning profitability/execution (“Improving, but where are the bucks?”) amplify investor caution about margin recovery. Starbucks: Improving, But Where Are The Bucks?
• Negative Sentiment: Labor and activist investor noise continues — a proxy challenge and resumed bargaining with Workers United raise execution and cost risks that investors dislike. Starbucks challenged by labor-friendly activist investors

Starbucks Profile

Starbucks Corporation is a global coffeehouse chain and roaster that operates, licenses and franchises coffee shops and related retail businesses. Founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, the company grew from a single store focused on whole-bean coffee and equipment into a broad consumer-facing brand. Howard Schultz, who joined the company later and served in senior leadership roles, is widely credited with transforming Starbucks into a mass-market specialty coffee retailer and expanding its footprint internationally.

Starbucks’ core activities center on the retail sale of hot and cold specialty beverages, whole-bean and packaged coffees, teas and ready-to-drink products, along with complementary food items and merchandise such as mugs and brewing equipment.