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Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

Could a shot of espresso get Pershing Square going again? Bill Ackman has taken a stake in Starbucks. Ackman is betting that Starbucks will eventually rebound following a few recent missteps and the departure of CEO Howard Schultz.

Ackman announced the position during the Grant's Fall 2018 Conference in New York.

Ackman is encouraged by Kevin Johnson, who took over from Howard Schultz as Starbucks CEO last year and says that he has the potential to fix Starbucks. In his presentation, Ackman highlighted Starbucks share buyback program as well as recent efforts to cut costs and get rid of extraneous business lines. Starbucks recent effort to cut stores in areas where they are already tightly clustered has also been positive. The presentation highlighted opportunities for the company to build up its presence in the midwest and south.

Starbucks said in a statement that it looks forward to "maintaining a productive dialogue with Mr. Ackman as we do with all of our shareholders."

Pershing Square has had a rough few years after a series of bad and often quixotic calls from Ackman. Recent positive bets have included companies like Nike where he took a passive stake. The firm's public fund and flagship private strategy are both up approximately 15% so far this year.......................

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