Candlestick Capital Management LP Cuts Position in Starbucks Corporation $SBUX

Candlestick Capital Management LP decreased its position in Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) by 90.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,542 shares of the coffee company’s stock after selling 778,825 shares during the quarter. Candlestick Capital Management LP’s holdings in Starbucks were worth $6,814,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SBUX. Cooper Haims Advisors LLC increased its position in Starbucks by 3.0% in the second quarter. Cooper Haims Advisors LLC now owns 3,749 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated raised its stake in Starbucks by 2.4% during the third quarter. Silver Oak Securities Incorporated now owns 5,288 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $447,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 1.1% during the third quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,004 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Pioneer Trust Bank N A OR now owns 11,437 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $968,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Starbucks by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,765 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $345,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on SBUX shares. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $89.00 price objective (up from $84.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $110.00 price objective on Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $104.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $97.12, for a total value of $242,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 59,609 shares in the company, valued at $5,789,226.08. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $58,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 86,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,601,700. This trade represents a 0.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,729 shares of company stock valued at $460,974 over the last three months. 0.03% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More Starbucks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Turnaround momentum: analysts and some prominent investors are calling Starbucks a recovery story after recent operational changes and a more generous rewards program that appears to be boosting demand. Josh Brown names SBUX a top stock
• Positive Sentiment: Customer loyalty actions: Starbucks revamped its rewards program to drive frequency and AUV recovery — a potential tailwind for same‑store sales if sustained. Rewards program update
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate and governance items: the company will webcast its March 25 annual meeting (forum for investor questions), and the CEO made small disclosed stock sales (minor ownership reduction). These are informational but not immediate operational catalysts. Annual meeting webcast SEC Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Proxy‑advisor warnings: two proxy advisory firms flagged that Starbucks may be under‑estimating the financial and reputational risks from persistent labor disputes — a governance red flag that can pressure the stock and complicate investor support. Reuters: proxy firms warn Starbucks Seeking Alpha: proxy firms warn
• Negative Sentiment: Union restarts and contract push: Starbucks Workers United submitted a detailed contract proposal seeking a $17 minimum start wage and 4% annual raises and is seeking to reopen bargaining — this raises the prospect of higher labor costs and renewed store‑level disruption. Yahoo Finance: union contract proposal CNBC: details of baristas’ asks
• Negative Sentiment: Market reaction and analyst caution: coverage notes the union trying to restart talks and some firms moving to more cautious stances — near‑term investor anxiety over labor negotiations is weighing on the stock. TipRanks: union talks pressure stock WSJ: union seeks to reopen negotiations
• Negative Sentiment: PR/governance noise: founder Howard Schultz’s relocation and related publicity about state tax policy add incremental governance/PR distraction during sensitive labor negotiations. Financial Post: Schultz relocation coverage

Starbucks Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $99.15 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $112.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.94, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.93. Starbucks Corporation has a 12 month low of $75.50 and a 12 month high of $104.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $95.28 and its 200 day moving average is $88.32.

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

About Starbucks

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.