Starbucks has been struggling lately, with shares of the coffee colossus falling 11 percent in 2016, and touching the lowest level in more than a year Tuesday. But the stock's slide has options trader Andrew Keene looking to make a play on the name.
"I think Starbucks has gotten sold off pretty hard, a lot of selling pressure, but it could consolidate and move even higher," Keene, CEO of AlphaShark, said Thursday on CNBC's "Trading Nation."
He points out that even though Starbucks shares have been dropping recently, the 100-week moving average, a smoothing mechanism that tracks the last two years of trading, has been rising rather consistently. Keene believes that Starbucks will follow its own moving average higher.
If Starbucks shares do bounce, how high could they go? Keene sees the coffee kingpin retaking the $57.50 level at which it traded in August. That would represent a 7 percent rally from Thursday's closing price.
Part of that climb could be fueled by coffee chain's continuous effort to also look abroad for opportunities. Starbucks stock actually jumped more than 1 percent on Wednesday after the company appointed the first CEO of its China division, Belinda Wong, following on an announcement made last week that Starbucks would double its number of stores in China by 2021.
The company also has plans to open grandly designed "Reserve Roastery" locations in Tokyo and Shanghai to increase its worldwide reach.
In order to play for his expected move, Keene is buying a "bull call spread" on Starbucks, which in this case entails buying the January 55-strike calls and selling the January 57.5-strike calls for a total of 80 cents per share, or $80 per contract.
If Starbucks in fact closes at or above $57.50 on Jan. 20, this spread will be worth $250, meaning that he will more than triple his money. On the other hand, if Starbucks shares fail to rise, that entire $80 will be lost.
Starbucks is scheduled to report earnings Nov. 3.
Trader takeaway: Andrew Keene is bullish on Starbucks and is buying the bullish January 55/57.50 call spread in an attempt to capitalize on a rally.
