Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $111.00 to $115.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the coffee company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.26% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on SBUX. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Tigress Financial initiated coverage on Starbucks in a report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $122.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on Starbucks from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $120.00 target price (up from $115.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Starbucks from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Starbucks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $112.04.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ:SBUX opened at $105.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 60.49, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.98. Starbucks has a one year low of $77.99 and a one year high of $109.23. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $102.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $99.08.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The coffee company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.19. Starbucks had a net margin of 5.17% and a negative return on equity of 34.10%. The business had revenue of $9.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.550-2.650 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Starbucks will post 2.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total value of $231,816.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,045,856. This represents a 2.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,687 shares of company stock valued at $679,033. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SBUX. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Starbucks by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 114,410,675 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $9,634,523,000 after purchasing an additional 971,773 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in Starbucks by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 84,727,405 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $7,135,228,000 after buying an additional 7,007,268 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Starbucks by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 47,869,056 shares of the coffee company’s stock worth $4,031,053,000 after buying an additional 327,161 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Starbucks by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 26,373,084 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $2,212,153,000 after acquiring an additional 225,168 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Starbucks by 65.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 19,447,854 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $1,637,704,000 after acquiring an additional 7,725,547 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Starbucks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong fiscal Q3 results: Adjusted earnings of $0.85 per share exceeded the $0.66 consensus, while revenue reached $9.32 billion versus expectations of approximately $9.17 billion. Global comparable-store sales increased 7.9%, powered by 4.2% transaction growth, suggesting customer traffic—not just pricing—is improving. Starbucks Q3 profit beats on US turnaround, lifts full-year guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Guidance was raised: Starbucks lifted fiscal 2026 adjusted EPS guidance to $2.55–$2.65 from $2.25–$2.45 and now expects roughly 6% full-year global comparable-sales growth. Management said faster service, store improvements, new products and better customer experiences are helping CEO Brian Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” turnaround. Starbucks Just Raised Starbucks’ Full-Year Profit Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support remains favorable: TD Cowen reaffirmed a Buy rating with a $120 target, while BTIG raised or reaffirmed its target at $115. Wells Fargo raised its target to $125 and Morgan Stanley to $115, reinforcing expectations for further recovery. We’re raising our price target on Starbucks after a home-run quarter
• Neutral Sentiment: Starbucks is testing carbonated versions of its Refreshers in select markets, expanding its non-coffee beverage strategy aimed particularly at younger customers. The sales impact remains unproven. Starbucks is betting bubbles will give sales some sparkle
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit-taking are limiting upside: After a substantial year-to-date advance and trading near its 52-week high, SBUX carries a price-to-earnings ratio above 60. Wolfe Research maintained a Hold rating, and BNP Paribas Exane kept an Underperform rating with a $92 target, warning that much of the recovery may already be priced in. Recent insider activity has also consisted of sales rather than purchases.

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.