Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Hits New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Starbucks shares hit a new 52-week high of $109 intraday, extending a recent rally as investors respond to improving sentiment around the company’s turnaround.
• Wall Street analysts remain broadly constructive, with several price target increases and an overall Moderate Buy consensus; the average target is about $109.42, near the current price.
• The company is leaning into its “Back to Starbucks” plan, including AI-driven cost cuts to reduce software spending, while its latest earnings beat expectations and the stock now faces a July 29 fiscal Q3 update.

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $109.00 and last traded at $108.5560, with a volume of 14121 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $108.37.

Key Starbucks News

Here are the key news stories impacting Starbucks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks is getting fresh support from Wall Street, with multiple analysts raising price targets or reiterating bullish ratings, which is helping reinforce expectations that the recovery story still has room to run. Earnings Preview: What To Expect From Starbucks' Report
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are also encouraged by Starbucks’ cost-cutting push, including using AI to reduce software spending, as part of its “Back to Starbucks” turnaround plan focused on efficiency, loyalty, and store improvements. Starbucks spends $400 million a year on software — now it's using AI to build its own and cut out the middleman
• Positive Sentiment: Starbucks defeated a shareholder lawsuit tied to declining U.S. and China sales, removing a legal overhang and reducing a source of uncertainty for investors. Starbucks defeats shareholder lawsuit over US, China sales declines
• Neutral Sentiment: Starbucks scheduled its fiscal third-quarter earnings call for July 29, keeping attention on upcoming results that could validate or challenge the current rally. Starbucks Announces Q3 Fiscal Year 2026 Results Conference Call
• Neutral Sentiment: Some recent articles note that the stock may already be pricing in a meaningful part of the turnaround, so valuation concerns could limit upside if earnings do not surprise to the upside. Is Starbucks (SBUX) Overvalued Even With Its AI Cost Cuts?
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts remain mixed overall, and some commentary suggests Starbucks still faces questions around valuation and execution, which may temper enthusiasm despite the recent gains. Analysts’ Opinions Are Mixed on These Consumer Cyclical Stocks: Starbucks (SBUX), Airbnb (ABNB) and Silgan Holdings (SLGN)

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SBUX shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $117.00 target price on Starbucks and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $108.00 target price (up from $101.00) on shares of Starbucks in a report on Tuesday. Wedbush initiated coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Starbucks from a "neutral" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Nineteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.42.

Starbucks Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $123.42 billion, a PE ratio of 82.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.98. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $102.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.78.

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The coffee company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $9.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. Starbucks's quarterly revenue was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. Starbucks has set its FY 2026 guidance at 2.250-2.450 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Starbucks Corporation will post 2.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Starbucks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. Starbucks's dividend payout ratio is currently 187.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $231,816.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 77,364 shares in the company, valued at $8,045,856. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 29th. The stock was 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 owned 57,653 shares in the company, valued at $6,053,565. This represents a 3.35% 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 8,687 shares of company stock worth $889,033. Insiders own 0.03% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rachor Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Phillip James Consulting Co. acquired a new position in shares of Starbucks in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Finally, Tucker Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Starbucks during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. 72.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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