Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Maplebear Inc. (NASDAQ:CART) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $42.91, but opened at $44.96. Maplebear shares last traded at $44.57, with a volume of 1,102,106 shares trading hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CART. JMP Securities upped their target price on Maplebear from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a “market outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Macquarie upped their price objective on Maplebear from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Maplebear from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Maplebear in a report on Friday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Maplebear in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.13.

Maplebear Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $11.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $43.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.19.

Maplebear (NASDAQ:CART) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.20. Maplebear had a net margin of 13.37% and a return on equity of 13.78%. The company had revenue of $852.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $844.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($20.86) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Maplebear Inc. will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Fidji Simo sold 20,750 shares of Maplebear stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.74, for a total value of $886,855.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,771,993 shares in the company, valued at $75,734,980.82. This trade represents a 1.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Alan Ramsay sold 2,247 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.14, for a total transaction of $94,688.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 87,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,697,152.90. This represents a 2.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,128 shares of company stock valued at $4,980,404 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 36.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Maplebear

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CART. Pacer Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Maplebear in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $158,701,000. Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new stake in Maplebear during the second quarter worth $77,361,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Maplebear by 151.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,732,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,361,000 after purchasing an additional 1,647,081 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Maplebear by 5,191.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,489,655 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,689,000 after buying an additional 1,461,501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Southpoint Capital Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Maplebear by 56.3% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 2,500,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $101,850,000 after buying an additional 900,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.09% of the company’s stock.

About Maplebear

Maplebear Inc, doing business as Instacart, engages in the provision of online grocery shopping services to households in North America. It sells and delivers grocery products, as well as pickup services through a mobile application and website. It also operates virtual convenience stores; and provides software-as-a-service solutions to retailers.