RBC Capital analyst David Palmer reiterated an Outperform rating and boosted his price target on Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) to $55.00 (from $50.00) following Q2 results on higher sales momentum, productivity, and benign costs.

"We believe investments in innovation, technology, and brand development will fuel sales and earnings momentum over the long term," Palmer said.

The analyst noted surprisingly strong SSS growth. "Starbucks’s F2Q was one of the more surprising/ impressive results in recent years," the analyst said. "Americas SSS growth was 7%, included 2pp of transaction growth, and was above the 5% predicted by our panel. Food added 2pp to comp growth, while beverages and tea each drove an 1pp."

The firm is raising earnings estimates for FY16 from $1.84 to $1.86, representing 18.5% year-over-year growth.

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Starbucks click here. For more ratings news on Starbucks click here.

Shares of Starbucks closed at $49.43 yesterday.