Starbucks Shares Rise Heading Into Q1 Earnings

Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) is scheduled to report fiscal Q1 earnings Thursday after the market close.

Analysts estimate that revenue will come in at $4.80 billion with EPS of $0.80.

Mark Kalinowski at Janney Capital Markets recently downgraded the stock to Neutral with an $85 fair value.

Kalinowski was concerned “about near-term same-store sales trends have grown” and lowered the firm’s fiscal Q1 EPS estimate “to $0.79 (one cent below consensus) and our full-fiscal 2015 EPS forecast by -1 cent, to $3.11 (one cent below consensus).”

In December, Jefferies analyst Andy Barish did “not think there is a high probability of EPS upside in the near-term (consensus is +17.5 percent growth in FY16 to $3.67), we have better visibility on SBUX ability to execute as it proves 1) customer acceptance of menu & daypart expansion beyond its core competencies and 2) strong returns on store growth both overseas and domestically.”

Jefferies set a $97 price target for the stock on December 8 and maintained a Buy rating.

Shares of Starbucks are up 1.68 percent over the past month and 1.9 percent over the last five trading session.

The stock recently traded at $81.96, up 0.82 percent.