Wall Street Zen Upgrades Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) to “Buy”

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Maplebear in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wedbush began coverage on Maplebear in a report on Thursday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $59.00 price objective on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised Maplebear from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Maplebear from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Maplebear from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Maplebear currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.86.

Maplebear Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ CART opened at $45.82 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $43.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.65. Maplebear has a twelve month low of $32.73 and a twelve month high of $53.50. The company has a market capitalization of $10.77 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.75.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.58 by ($0.01). Maplebear had a net margin of 12.50% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.37 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Maplebear will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ravi Gupta sold 181,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.51, for a total value of $7,513,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 741,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,780,619.73. This trade represents a 19.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 24.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplebear

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Maplebear by 49.2% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in shares of Maplebear by 94.7% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,215 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 591 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Maplebear by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,370,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,343,000 after buying an additional 242,468 shares during the last quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Maplebear by 40.5% during the first quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 219,822 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,235,000 after buying an additional 63,415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Maplebear by 16.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,562,097 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,516,000 after buying an additional 221,036 shares in the last quarter. 63.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Maplebear Company Profile

Maplebear, Inc, doing business as Instacart, operates a leading online grocery and essentials marketplace that connects consumers, retail partners and personal shoppers through its digital platform. The company enables customers to order groceries, household items and specialty products for same-day or scheduled delivery, as well as in-store pickup. By integrating its technology with retailers’ existing inventory and point-of-sale systems, Maplebear streamlines the shopping experience and provides real-time availability and pricing.

Founded in 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, Maplebear has grown from a regional startup to a publicly traded company listed on NASDAQ under the ticker CART.