By Matt Andrejczak

Starbucks shares, trading at 52-week highs, made another push forward Friday, spurred by yet another analyst upgrade.

Starbucks shares were recently up 3.5% to $20.78.

PiperJaffray analyst Nicole Miller Regan upgraded Starbucks to overweight from neutral and boosted her 12-month stock price target to $24 from $13. She is targeting Starbucks to post at least 17% earnings growth for the coming two-year period.

The highest price target on Starbucks is $25 a share among the 19 analysts tracked by FactSet Research. There are currently eight buys and 11 holds on the stock.

Starbucks (SBUX) crested the $20 mark a week ago for the first time in 21 months.

Since May, the number of buy ratings has increased. Starbucks has shown its sales are stabilizing and its cost-cutting program is on track. The coffee retailer beat analyst earnings' expectations by 5 cents a share for the quarter ended June 28.

Starbucks shares have skyrocketed 121% so far this year. For the past 12 months, the stock is up 30%, compared with an 11% decline for the S&P 500 Index.

Starbucks' stock hit a low of $7.06 in November - the culmination of a two-year free fall.

-Matt Andrejczak; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com