Coffee giant Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) is surging this morning, up 5.8% at $96.26 -- a fresh off a record high of $96.63 right out of the gate. Sending the shares higher is the company's fiscal third-quarter earnings beat, which was also accompanied by its largest increase in same-store sales in three years.
The beverage chain has been an outstanding performer on the charts, carving out a series of new all-time peaks in recent weeks. Helping the the shares to a 77% year-over-year gain through last night's close has been the rising 70-day moving average, while their 10-day moving average has more recently served as support.
A handful of analysts have been quick to react to last night's earnings win, with no fewer than 12 price-target raises being handed out so far. The most optimistic looks to be from Jefferies, which hiked its price target to $110 from $96. There remains plenty of room for upgrades, though, with 12 brokerage firms still sporting a tepid "hold" recommendation on the stock.
Meanwhile, SBUX has had a tendency to make bigger moves than what options were pricing in over the past year. This is per the stock's Schaeffer's Volatility Scorecard (SVS) reading of 82 out of 100, meaning buying premiums on the stock has been an attractive strategy for options traders.