In the face of a difficult situation, the road ahead for Starbucks Corporation (SBUX.US) is long and winding as it receives a rare downgrade from major Wall Street banks.

Jefferies analyst issued a research report warning that it is too early to be excited about the prospect of Starbucks Corporation (SBUX.US) turning around despite having a new CEO, and unusually gave this struggling coffee chain operator a rare "sell" rating. Since former Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG.US) CEO Brian Niccol suddenly took over as CEO of Starbucks Corporation in August, as of Monday's close, Starbucks Corporation's stock price has surged 24%. However, according to Jefferies' Andy Barish, this rebound has gone too far given that the path to improving the business is not smooth. Barish stated in a research report, "While the new CEO has indicated that necessary strategic changes are on the table, we believe that with issues related to operations, culture, values, and technology needing time to resolve, execution will face challenges." He lowered the target price for Starbucks Corporation to $76, the lowest target price among all Wall Street analysts covering the stock, implying a 20% drop from Monday's closing price of $95.48 over the next 12 months. Since the leadership change, Wall Street analysts have been upgrading their ratings for Starbucks Corporation, but in contrast, Barish downgraded his rating for Starbucks Corporation to "sell". According to compiled data, this is one of only two "sell" ratings for the stock so far, and it is the first time this analyst has given a "sell" rating since covering this U.S. company in 2011. Due to the trend of consumer downgrading this year, Starbucks Corporation's stock price has been under pressure. Pre-market on Tuesday, the stock fell by 0.51%.