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 research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research cut shares of Starbucks from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Citizens Jmp began coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Monday, March 30th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $84.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Starbucks from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of Starbucks from a “sector perform” rating to a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $108.92.

Starbucks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $102.19 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $101.65 and its 200 day moving average is $96.13. The company has a market cap of $116.47 billion, a PE ratio of 77.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks has a 1 year low of $77.99 and a 1 year high of $108.88.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.41 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. Analysts expect that Starbucks will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sara Kelly sold 2,000 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 57,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,053,565. This trade represents a 3.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brady Brewer sold 588 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.00, for a total value of $58,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 79,593 shares in the company, valued at $7,959,300. The trade was a 0.73% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 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 three months. 0.03% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co raised its position in shares of Starbucks by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co now owns 33,854 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $3,033,000 after purchasing an additional 4,472 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Starbucks by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 45,752 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $4,099,000 after purchasing an additional 2,241 shares during the last quarter. First Nebraska Trust Co purchased a new stake in Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at about $412,000. Security Financial Services INC. bought a new stake in Starbucks during the 1st quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, Westshore Wealth LLC increased its stake in Starbucks by 37.9% during the 1st quarter. Westshore Wealth LLC now owns 4,236 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $380,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares in the last quarter. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.