NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Coverage on shares of Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) - Get Report was initiated today at Credit Suisse with a "neutral" rating and $99 price target. The stock is up 0.46% to $92.60 in pre-market trading.

"SBUX continues to execute at a very high level and offers best-in-class growth among global restaurant companies and retail," analysts said.

However, "the recent increase in valuation and some growth headwinds put us at a 'neutral,'" analysts noted.

Credit Suisse cites several reasons why the stock may struggle to outperform from here:

1. Expectations are high (consensus long)
2. Margin gains could get tougher, particularly as SBUX makes strategic investments in digital and labor
3. SBUX is losing a sizeable coffee tailwind this year (may be underappreciated)
4. Same store sales expectations (strong mid-single-digits) set a high bar
5. Capital investment rising, weighing on incremental returns
6. Forex headwinds may be underappreciated
7. Loss of a key management member (Troy Alstead, former COO and CFO)

Analysts said that risks to their call include improving macros and lower gas prices that could lead to upside. The company also continues to proactively reduce costs, including plans to reduce COGS by about $1 billion over four years via a more efficient supply chain. This could also drive upside to forecasts, analysts noted.

Starbucks is the Seattle-based premier roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty coffee in the world, operating in 65 countries. The company purchases and roasts high-quality coffees, along with handcrafted coffee, tea, and other beverages and fresh food items through company-operated stores.

Insight from TheStreet's Research Team:

Starbucks is a core holding of Jim Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS Charitable Trust Portfolio. During the most recent weekly roundup, this is what Jim Cramer, Portfolio Manager and Jack Mohr, Director of Research - Action Alerts PLUS had to say about the stock:

Shares traded sideways this week after hitting new all-time highs last week. Several analysts bumped their price targets on SBUX last week (to $108 at Jefferies and to $107 at Piper Jaffray), fueling the momentum.

We continue to view this as a core holding with its aggressive international growth agenda and plan to grow ticket size domestically via new product offerings and differentiated storefronts. The company has simply been firing on all cylinders for ages.

"Howard Schultz, whom I interviewed Monday as part of my Tenth Anniversary week for Mad Money told me that he thinks the best has yet to come for this company," Cramer said, "and who am I to disagree with him and the juggernaut he has built."

The U.S.-based stores have been on a major roll, but not as strong as the Chinese stores, because that market is on fire and on its way to becoming the company's major growth engine. Starbuck's European business turned a year ago, ahead of the Continent's nascent comeback, and it's now accelerating.

The tea initiatives, through Teavana, are just starting to kick in.

Meanwhile, the changes in the menu are working, the consumer packaged goods business continues to be among the fastest growing in the supermarket aisle, and the Roastery is brilliant because it shows that Starbucks understands craft coffee.

We believe the double-digit earnings and revenue growth goals are attainable and believe its five- year plan could lead to a market cap of $100 billion or more (which implies a doubling of shares) by 2020. We reiterate our $100 target.

-Jim Cramer and Jack Mohr, 'Weekly Roundup' originally published 3/6/2015 on ActionAlertsPLUS.com.

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Separately, TheStreet Ratings team rates STARBUCKS CORP as a Buy with a ratings score of A+. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate STARBUCKS CORP (SBUX) a BUY. This is based on the convergence of positive investment measures, which should help this stock outperform the majority of stocks that we rate. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, solid stock price performance, impressive record of earnings per share growth, compelling growth in net income and notable return on equity. We feel these strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows low profit margins." You can view the full analysis from the report here: SBUX Ratings Report