Starbucks shares close lower on Thursday, retailer’s quarterly sales miss market expectations

Starbucks Corporations (SBUX) quarterly sales, reported on Thursday, fell short of market expectations, as customer spending growth in its core US market eased.

Starbucks shares closed lower on Thursday, while marking their second loss in the past nine trading sessions. The stock went down 0.42% ($0.26) to $61.30, after touching an intraday high at $61.94, or a price level not seen since December 10th 2015 ($62.14). In after-hours trade the stock plunged 4.73% ($2.90) to $58.40.

In the week ended on April 23rd the shares of the coffee chain added 5.39% to their market value compared to a week ago, which marked the first gain in the past three weeks and also the best performance since the week ended on April 26th 2015. The stock has pared its advance to 4.98% so far during the current month, following a 2.67% surge in March. The latter has been a second consecutive month of gains. For the entire past year, the shares of the NASDAQ-listed retailer lost 7.51%.

Starbucks net revenue was reported to have risen 6% to $5.3 billion during the quarter ended on April 2nd. The figure just missed the median forecast by analysts, which had pointed to $5.4 billion in net revenue.

At the same time, the average amount spent per order in the US increased 4% during the fiscal second quarter, following a 5% surge in the preceding three-month period.

Net income attributable to shareholders was reported to have increased to $652.8 million during the latest quarter from $575.1 million during the same period a year ago. The actual figure came in line with the median estimate by analysts, surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The retailers earnings per share were reported at $0.45 during the second quarter, up from $0.39 during the same period a year earlier.

Sales at cafes across the United States, open at least 13 months, grew 3% during the second quarter, while on the other hand, traffic decreased for a second consecutive quarterly period, down 2%.

In a statement, Kevin Johnson, the successor to former Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz, said the largest coffee chain worldwide was set to show better results in the upcoming quarters.

“With our U.S. business accelerating throughout the quarter and strong performance in China, we are poised to deliver strong revenue growth in the second half and into the future”, the new CEO said, cited by Reuters.

According to CNN Money, the 28 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Starbucks Corporation’s stock price, have a median target of $65.00, with a high estimate of $71.00 and a low estimate of $54.00. The median estimate is a 6.04% surge compared to the closing price of $61.30 on April 27th.

The same media also reported that 22 out of 33 surveyed investment analysts had rated Starbucks Corporation’s stock as “Buy”, while 9 – as “Hold”.

Daily and Weekly Pivot Levels

With the help of the Camarilla calculation method, todays levels of importance for the Starbucks stock are presented as follows:

R1 – $61.37
R2 – $61.44
R3 (Range Resistance – Sell) – $61.51
R4 (Long Breakout) – $61.71
R5 (Breakout Target 1) – $61.95
R6 (Breakout Target 2) – $62.05

S1 – $61.23
S2 – $61.16
S3 (Range Support – Buy) – $61.09
S4 (Short Breakout) – $60.89
S5 (Breakout Target 1) – $60.65
S6 (Breakout Target 2) – $60.55

By using the traditional method of calculation, the weekly levels of importance for Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) are presented as follows:

Central Pivot Point – $59.63
R1 – $61.67
R2 – $62.73
R3 – $64.77
R4 – $66.81

S1 – $58.57
S2 – $56.53
S3 – $55.47
S4 – $54.41