If you wanted a bit of strange news to close out a trading session, coffee giant Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) delivered, and in a big way. It actually just sued its own union, and investors were sufficiently pleased by this odd bit of infighting to send shares up fractionally to close out Thursday’s trading session.
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Interestingly, Starbucks didn’t just sue Workers United, but Workers United sued Starbucks right back. And it’s all about a social media post regarding the Israel-Hamas war. Starbucks hauled Workers United to a federal court in Iowa, noting that a pro-Palestinian social media post was likely to damage Starbucks’ reputation and likely impact sales accordingly.
Starbucks also noted that Workers United infringed on Starbucks’ trademark by calling itself “Starbucks Workers United” and also on Starbucks’ logo with the iconic green circle. Thus, Starbucks demanded that stop. Meanwhile, Workers United countered, saying that Starbucks implied that it “supports terrorism and violence,” likely due to the post supporting Palestinians.
Is Starbucks a Buy or Sell Stock?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on SBUX stock based on eight Buys and 12 Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average SBUX price target of $112.82 per share implies 19.68% upside potential.
