Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SBUX has been the subject of several other reports. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Starbucks from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $97.00 price objective (up from $95.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Stephens assumed coverage on Starbucks in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut Starbucks from a “neutral” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $108.92.

Starbucks Stock Performance

Shares of SBUX opened at $102.19 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $101.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks has a 52-week low of $77.99 and a 52-week high of $108.88.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.44 by $0.06. Starbucks had a negative return on equity of 29.24% and a net margin of 3.89%.The business had revenue of $9.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.41 EPS. The company’s quarterly 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, research analysts forecast that Starbucks will post 2.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Starbucks

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 79,593 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,959,300. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was 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 $6,053,565. The trade was 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 90 days. Company insiders own 0.03% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Starbucks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Financial Freedom LLC lifted its position in Starbucks by 296.2% in the first quarter. Financial Freedom LLC now owns 313 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

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.