Barclays says buy Starbucks ahead of Investor Day after its new CEO hire

Buy Starbucks ahead of its Investor Day next week now that it’s appointed a new CEO , according to Barclays. “We view Starbucks as a premiere, large-cap, high-growth, global consumer company led by a dominant US retail & consumer product platform, significant int’l growth led by China & a best-in-class digital platform. And we are excited by the new CEO hire,” analyst Jeffrey A. Bernstein wrote in a Wednesday note. Starbucks will host its Investor Day on Sept. 13. Last week, the coffee giant named restaurant industry outsider Laxman Narasimhan as its next leader. He will join Starbucks in October and rise to the top post in April, succeeding interim CEO Howard Schultz. Shares of Starbucks declined this year as the coffee shop chain dealt with macro challenges including rising inflation, Covid shutdowns in China, a growing labor movement in the U.S. and leadership changes. However, Bernstein believes the company can turn around next year with a new CEO marking “a return to long-term sustainable growth, and the challenges in F22 will become opportunities in F23 and beyond,” according to the note. “In our view, the China headwinds of ’22 will turn into tailwinds in ’23,” read the note. “Labor investments being made in the US will be lapped as we move through the year, easing the unionization headwinds, while leading to stronger fundamental performance. Lastly, we expect global inflation to moderate (i.e. coffee and labor), while incremental menu pricing mitigates.” Barclays had a $96 price target on the company, implying about 13% upside from where shares closed on Tuesday. Shares of Starbucks are up more than 2% in Wednesday morning trading. –CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed to this report.