Piper Sandler Upgrades Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) to Overweight

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $103.00 price target on the coffee company’s stock, up from their previous price target of $85.00. Piper Sandler’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 9.69% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Starbucks from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Starbucks from $92.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Evercore ISI downgraded Starbucks from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $92.00 to $80.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Starbucks from $105.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $110.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.04.

Starbucks Stock Up 21.9 %

Shares of SBUX stock traded up $16.87 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $93.90. 81,755,000 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,272,482. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $83.82. Starbucks has a 12-month low of $71.55 and a 12-month high of $107.66. The stock has a market cap of $106.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.94.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The coffee company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.93. The business had revenue of $9.11 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.25 billion. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 49.38% and a net margin of 11.16%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Starbucks will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Starbucks

In other news, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 65,431 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,234,480. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Michael Aaron Conway sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $260,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,304 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,264,320. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Rachel Ruggeri sold 3,750 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 65,431 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,234,480. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $579,375 over the last 90 days. 1.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Vima LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. DSM Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Starbucks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairman Group LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Cypress Capital Management LLC WY raised its position in Starbucks by 133.1% during the 4th quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC WY now owns 324 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. 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.