Zacks Research Downgrades Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) to Hold

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) was downgraded by equities researchers at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on SBUX. Wedbush assumed coverage on Starbucks in a report on Thursday, May 14th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $110.00 price target on shares of Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen raised Starbucks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Starbucks from an “overweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Nineteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Starbucks presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.92.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $102.19 on Monday. Starbucks has a twelve month low of $77.99 and a twelve month high of $108.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $101.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.13. The firm has a market cap of $116.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.42, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.98.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.44 by $0.06. Starbucks had a net margin of 3.89% and a negative return on equity of 29.24%. The company had revenue of $9.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Starbucks will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total transaction of $58,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,959,300. This represents a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 57,653 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,053,565. This represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 8,687 shares of company stock worth $863,707 in the last quarter. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Starbucks

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 86.5% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $16,126,000 after acquiring an additional 81,952 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Starbucks by 47.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 3,642 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $288,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 92.8% in the 2nd quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,225 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $479,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 112,710 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $10,328,000 after purchasing an additional 7,978 shares during the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Starbucks Company 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.