By Matt Andrejczak
Starbucks shares, trading at 52-week highs, made another push
forward Friday, spurred by yet another analyst upgrade.
Starbucks shares were recently up 3.5% to $20.78.
PiperJaffray analyst Nicole Miller Regan upgraded Starbucks to
overweight from neutral and boosted her 12-month stock price target
to $24 from $13. She is targeting Starbucks to post at least 17%
earnings growth for the coming two-year period.
The highest price target on Starbucks is $25 a share among the
19 analysts tracked by FactSet Research. There are currently eight
buys and 11 holds on the stock.
Starbucks (SBUX) crested the $20 mark a week ago for the first
time in 21 months.
Since May, the number of buy ratings has increased. Starbucks
has shown its sales are stabilizing and its cost-cutting program is
on track. The coffee retailer beat analyst earnings' expectations
by 5 cents a share for the quarter ended June 28.
Starbucks shares have skyrocketed 121% so far this year. For the
past 12 months, the stock is up 30%, compared with an 11% decline
for the S&P 500 Index.
Starbucks' stock hit a low of $7.06 in November - the
culmination of a two-year free fall.
-Matt Andrejczak; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com