Starbucks shares close higher on Monday, company appoints Patrick Grismer as its next Chief Financial Officer

Starbucks Corporation (SBUX) announced on Monday that it had appointed Patrick Grismer as its new Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. The appointment comes at a time when the company faces fierce competition in a cooling coffee market in the United States.

Starbucks shares closed higher for the sixth time in the past ten trading sessions on NASDAQ on Monday. It has also been the sharpest daily surge since September 21st. The stock went up 1.40% ($0.78) to $56.54, after touching an intraday high at $56.75, or a price level not seen since October 1st ($56.95).

Shares of Starbucks Corporation have retreated 1.55% so far in 2018 compared with a 7.89% gain for the underlying index, S&P 500 (SPX).

In 2017, Starbucks Corp’s stock rose 3.44%, thus, it again underperformed the S&P 500, which registered a 19.42% return.

Patrick Grismer is to replace Scott Maw, who has served as Starbucks Corp’s CFO since February 2014. In order to ensure a smooth transition, Maw will be a senior consultant through March 2019.

Grismer, who currently is Chief Financial Officer at Hyatt Hotels Corp, is to become part of Starbucks Corps team on November 12th, the coffee chain said. He will assume the new CFO role after Scott Maw steps down on November 30th.

Before his appointment at Hyatt Hotels Corp, Patrick Grismer has been in financial and strategy roles at several corporate entities, including Walt Disney Company and Yum Brands Inc, which owns Pizza Hut and KFC restaurants.

According to CNN Money, the 23 analysts, offering 12-month forecasts regarding Starbucks Corporation’s stock price, have a median target of $58.00, with a high estimate of $66.00 and a low estimate of $51.00. The median estimate represents a 2.58% upside compared to the closing price of $56.54 on October 8th.

The same media also reported that 16 out of 29 surveyed investment analysts had rated Starbucks Corporation’s stock as “Hold”, while 12 – as “Buy”.

Weekly Pivot Levels

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

Central Pivot Point – $56.00
R1 – $56.71
R2 – $57.66
R3 – $58.37
R4 – $59.08

S1 – $55.05
S2 – $54.34
S3 – $53.39
S4 – $52.44