Wells Fargo & Company Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Stock

Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $120.00 to $125.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the coffee company’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price points to a potential upside of 18.76% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on SBUX. Tigress Financial started coverage on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, April 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $122.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut shares of Starbucks from a “sector perform” rating to a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $130.00 target price on shares of Starbucks in a report on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of Starbucks in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Nineteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $112.04.

Starbucks Price Performance

NASDAQ SBUX opened at $105.25 on Thursday. Starbucks has a 1-year low of $77.99 and a 1-year high of $109.23. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $99.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.98 billion, a PE ratio of 60.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.98.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Starbucks news, CEO Brady Brewer sold 2,229 shares of Starbucks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.00, for a total transaction of $231,816.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 77,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,045,856. The trade was a 2.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 6,687 shares of company stock worth $679,033 over the last ninety days. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Starbucks

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SBUX. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Starbucks by 86.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 176,722 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $16,126,000 after purchasing an additional 81,952 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. lifted its stake in Starbucks by 47.0% in the second 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 Starbucks in the second quarter worth about $288,000. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 92.8% during the second quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 5,225 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $479,000 after buying an additional 2,515 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Starbucks by 7.6% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 112,710 shares of the coffee company’s stock valued at $10,328,000 after buying an additional 7,978 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 72.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Starbucks

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.