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Key Takeaways
- Starbucks shares dropped in premarket trading on Wednesday after the global coffee chain suspended its 2025 outlook and reported disappointing preliminary quarterly results, as new CEO Brian Niccol starts implementing a turnaround strategy.
- Buyers have defended the lower trendline of a symmetrical triangle and the 50-day moving average, though the stock sits poised to break down below the pattern.
- Investors should monitor key support areas on Starbucks’ chart around $90 and $83, while watching overhead levels near $99 and $107.50 during a recovery.
Starbucks (SBUX) shares fell in premarket trading on Wednesday after the global coffee chain suspended its 2025 outlook and reported preliminary fiscal fourth-quarter results that came in below Wall Street expectations, as new CEO Brian Niccol starts implementing a turnaround strategy.
Niccol, who joined Starbucks in August after serving as CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), outlined plans to simplify the company’s menu and address its pricing strategy in an effort to boost sales growth. However, the coffeehouse chain said the changes will take time, adding that it was unable to stop a decline in traffic during the latest quarter.
Starbucks shares have gained around 28% since Niccol’s appointment, but the stock is flat since the start of the year amid a slowdown in sales arising from increased competition and sluggish demand in its key U.S. and China markets.
Below, we analyze the technicals on Starbucks’ chart and point out important price levels to keep an eye out for.
Symmetrical Triangle Breakdown
Since gapping above the closely watched 200-day moving average (MA) in mid-August, Starbucks shares have consolidated within a symmetrical triangle.
More recently, buyers have defended the pattern’s lower trendline and upward sloping 50-day MA, though the stock sits poised to break down below the triangle on Wednesday. Starbucks shares were down nearly 4% at around $93 about an hour before Wednesday’s opening bell.
Let’s take a look at several key levels on Starbucks’ chart where the shares may attract buying interest and also point out important overhead areas to watch during a recovery.
Key Support Areas to Watch
Upon a breakdown from the symmetrical triangle, investors should watch how the price reacts to the $90 level. Investors could look for buying opportunities in this area near a trendline linking the October 2023 trough and April 2024 countertrend peak.
Selling below this level could trigger a fall to around $83, where the stock may attract buying interest near the June swing high, an area that also doubles as the neckline of a double bottom that formed on the chart between May and July.
Important Overhead Levels to Monitor
A recovery above the symmetrical triangle’s top trendline could see a move up to the $99 level, where the shares may encounter resistance near a multi-month trendline joining a range of comparable trading levels on the chart from March 2023 to September this year.
A decisive close above this level may fuel a rally to around $107.50, a location on the chart where investors could seek exit points near the prominent November 2023 swing high.
This area also sits just above a measured move price target that calculates the distance of the symmetrical triangle and adds that amount to the pattern’s top trendline. For example, adding $9 to $98 projects a target of $107.
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As of the date this article was written, the author does not own any of the above securities.