Wall Street wasted no time getting behind Starbucks shares after the No. 1 U.S. coffee restaurant named Chipotle CEO Brian Niccol as CEO , dumping Laxman Narasimhan. Baird upgraded Starbucks to outperform from neutral shortly after the news and before trading even began on Wall Street officially. “We see a more favorable risk/reward on SBUX following the hiring of Brian Niccol as Chairman and CEO, wrote analyst David Tarantino. “While we acknowledge continued near-term risks related to the external operating environment, we believe Niccol brings a skill set that will prove valuable in strengthening internal operating fundamentals for the company, and set the stage for healthier growth in the years ahead, and based on this outlook, we now expect sentiment on the shares to remain positive even if operating results are lackluster for the next few quarters stock struggles.” Starbucks shares have struggled for the last three years after an initial demand boom following the pandemic. Since Narasimhan was named CEO in March 2023, the stock’s struggles worsened, falling 21% during his tenure as the restaurant dealt with slower service lines and finding the right pricing strategy in this inflationary environment. SBUX 5Y mountain Starbucks, 5 years Baird set a new price target of $110 on Starbucks, which represents a 40%-plus pop from Monday’s close. The stock was already up 15% to around $89 in premarket trading. Niccol has run Chipotle since 2018 and before than was the top leader at Taco Bell, owned by Yum Brands. “We view Niccol as an exceptional executive based on his track record in driving robust results at Chipotle since he arrived in 2018, as well as his successful stints at YUM (including as CEO of Taco Bell) and Procter & Gamble,” stated the Baird note.
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