Baird analyst David Tarantino upgraded Starbucks to Outperform from Neutral and raised his 12-month price target to $115 from $100, implying more than 25% upside from the coffee chain’s last close. The call marks one of the most bullish broker views on the stock this year and follows a stretch in which Starbucks underperformed the broader market after six consecutive quarters of same-store sales declines. Tarantino said he has “high conviction” that the turnaround strategy under Chief Executive Officer Brian Niccol is gaining traction. He pointed to a $500 million store-level labor investment, a refreshed product pipeline and planned cost-savings measures that could eventually restore operating margins to their pre-pandemic level of 17%, up from an estimated 10.3% in fiscal 2025. Improved U.S. comparable sales are expected to emerge in 2026 as initiatives such as the customer-service-focused “Green Apron Service” roll out. The upgrade sent Starbucks shares up roughly 1% in early trading on Tuesday. Market sentiment on the stock remains mixed: of the 39 analysts tracked by LSEG, 17 rate the shares a buy or strong buy, 18 a hold and four an underperform or sell.