I see them at 12.75 a share, this is my price target after looking
things over for starbucks.

After looking things over....I'd say......hummmmm....how about
$100..no make it $224

thing???? You're Crazy

12.75 is a fair price for SBUX currently I am not sure what makes you
think the share price is worth more.

At least, I don't think SBUX will turn around soon. Don't waste your
time.

Where is the stock headed next week, Fm1?

I have no idea....I'm not a fortune teller!

KKD is a better buy, once they go back to donuts or donuts and coffee
instead of overexpanding, they'll make a strong come back.

What is this based on?

KKD is a great buy :-) Thanks for that hearty laugh. You made my day.

The world is simply moving away from carbs. I would not be caught dead
with KKD.

On the question of SBUX, I expect Starbucks to be worth about $60 B in
about 3-5 years i.e 5x return on current prices.

If you don't agree it doesn't matter.

A quote from Buffet's mentor Benjamin Graham

"You are never right or wrong because others disagree with you. You
are  wrong because your facts and analysis are wrong"

Its possible that I am wrong but at current prices there is a margin
of safety so my capital is safe. This is the essence of value
investing.

BTW: I don't think SBUX will ever be available for $12.75. Its a great
company its not broken. If you want $12.75 dirt cheap companies, pick
up some from the housing bust.

Cheers

-VV

All joking aside, is there any way SBUX will be at 12.75 one day. If
this comes true do I buy it or be afraid of it.

Just think about what you are asking.

You want to buy stock in the company at a price of $9.24 B. The assets
itself are worth $7.24 B. So you don't want to pay much for the brand
recognition and the efforts that have been done to make it the number
one coffee maker in the world.

It sounds like you want to buy a Toyota but you want it at the price
of a Hyundai.

There is a reason why a Hyundai is priced less.

I would rather buy a Toyota at a reasonable price as opposed to buying
a Hyundai at a great price.

Hope this helps.

-VV

I meant to say assets are worth $5.34B. Just for the sake of finance
geeks.

You get my point.

In any case, this lawsuite is going to impact their balance sheet. I
look at their balance sheet rather than Coffee. Ofcourse, I like
starbucks coffee.

Is Starbucks making money out of their balance sheet???? people are
funny. It's a waste of time typing more.

Yes Starbucks is making money out of their balance sheet. There
balance sheet is where they house their earning assets. Take a
business class.

The balance sheet is only a financial tool to show you how healthy a
company's business and management are. In this case Starbucks is
selling coffee. How can you correctly fix the balance sheet without a
healthy sale of the products. I don't know what kind of business
classes you have been through; you may wanna retake them; or learn to
be ethical. Companies that don't focus on their products but their
balance sheet will eventually fail or conduct unlawful activities like
"playing" with unmbers.

I agree 100% with devsur..... Im increasing my position on SBUX as I
type this and im not one bit scared. SBUX is at a huge discount.

Well not a huge discount you cant factor in such a high P/E as before
"Growth has Slowed" At Starbucks So we go with a more conservative P/E
lets say the currant rate #19.69 earnings estimates out of First Call
are $0.97 for fiscal Sept-2008 and $1.13 EPS for fiscal Sept-2009 So
buy Sept 09 we could see $22.24 , Thats the technical side  starbucks
could
ramp up growth by the end of 08 or 09 then you would see a much higher
price of course,
but you have to keep in mind that unless commodities start to cool it
will be difficult for sbux to increase earnings ,,

The P/E may be even a little high, seeing as earnings growth has
slowed. The gamble is at what rate will the growth continue into the
future... and the history of other high-growth companies does not
suggest a speedy growth rate going forward. I think either this p/e,
or a market p/e is fitting. I wouldn't pay more.

jay,

I don't doubt your evaluation on the technical side. I know my
limitations. I simply cannot predict the stock price and my hopes are
not based on such expectations.

Instead it is based on analysis and observations that Starbucks is
undervalued related to future prospects.

First of, the price of commodities does not matter. Here's why.
Starbucks has been in business at least since 1989 (roughly). If
commodities could drastically affect their earnings, they would not
have been able to grow their earnings around 26.86 over the past 5
years and more earlier.

That is the benefit of investing in a blue chip. All these risks have
been ironed out over a long period of past operations. In other words
you can make reasonable predictions about the future from past
performance.

Regards to P/E, Coca Cola has a market cap of $140B. That's the size
of the soda business. Starbucks currently has a cap of $12.98B. I
don't think it is unreasonable to expect Starbucks to be worth $60B
over time. Both companies are in the same business. People choose
between soda and coffee all around the world. Once you have a soda you
don't want a coffee and vice versa. Starbucks has the additional
benefit of a place to sit. Further, studies are always finding
benefits of coffee. I have yet to see a positive study about soda.

Using another calculation (Discount Cash Flow), take EPS at 0.73 (3
year avg.) assume growth rate of 15% for 10 years, discount future
earnings back at 6%(bond rate), you get a price per share of $39.23.
This assumes no growth for the company after 10 years. So by another
conservative measure the price is half its value.

Finally, a PE of 20 is not a huge discount but its not bad for a blue
chip with great future potential. Buffet has been known to pay around
20 for KO and other blue chips. You pay up because of the minimal
downside risks combined with highly lucrative future prospects.

But I humbly agree that whether Starbucks growth has slowed or whether
they have great future prospects is an art and not a science. Without
it being an art there would be no buying opportunites. There would be
no money to be made in the stock market.

Having said that, it is far easier to predict that more people will be
drinking coffee 5,10,25 years from now as opposed to what Microsoft or
Google will be doing then. Its also not hard to imagine that Starbucks
will be a dominant player in the coffee business if such a business
continues to thrive in the future.

P.S. I happily provide my analysis for the sake of this great company
whose products have provided me a lot of joy over the last decade and
also to help out new investors.

Regards.
-VV

I am shorting SBUX at 18.00
target price: $16.00
target time: 1-7 days

Going long NOW
target price: $100.00
Target time 1-7 days.

Who in the hell cares when you go short..what does that have to do
with anything good about SBUX!

good luck with that price target

"The balance sheet is only a financial tool to show you how healthy a
company's business and management are. "

Wrong. The balance sheet is to show you what assets and liabilities
the company has. Its to show the financial position the company has.
Most assets and liabilities are listed, but the point I was making is
that the listed assets is what the company uses to make money. You
would be better to talk to the Manager's doctor to find out how
healthy the management is. lol

"How can you correctly fix the balance sheet without a healthy sale of
the products."

Buying and selling investments. You don't need to retail or wholesale
goods to "fix" your balance sheet. If you had business experience you
would know this. If you don't have time to get a degree, you could
always take night classes offered at a local college. Just a thought.

Big.